Comparing: Die Gansemagd

A queen once sent her daughter to a distant kingdom to marry a prince. She was a beautiful princess, and she was given a beautiful chambermaid as a companion. But the chambermaid had a wicked heart. When the day came for them to set out, the queen gave her daughter a handkerchief with three drops of her own blood upon it, saying, 'Take care of this, my child, for it will protect you.' She also gave her a talking horse named Falada, who could speak with a human voice. The princess mounted Falada, and the chambermaid rode behind her. As they traveled, the princess became thirsty and said to the maid, 'Dismount and get me a drink from the stream.' But the maid said, 'If you are thirsty, get off and drink yourself. I will not be your servant.' So the princess had to dismount and drink from the stream. As she drank, she wept, saying, 'Alas! What will become of me?' The three drops of blood heard her and answered, 'If your mother knew this, her heart would break.' But the princess was gentle and said nothing. As they continued, the princess grew thirsty again. But when she asked the maid for water, the maid answered even more proudly than before, 'If you are thirsty, get it yourself. I will not be your servant.' So the princess had to dismount again and drink from the stream. As she did so, she looked at her hair, which was so beautiful that it shone like gold. The maid saw it and was filled with envy. When the princess was again on her horse, the maid said, 'I will ride on Falada, and you shall ride on my nag.' The princess had to agree. Then the maid ordered the princess to take off her royal clothes and put on the maid's common clothes. Finally, she forced the princess to swear by the open sky that she would tell no one at the royal court what had happened. If she had not sworn, the maid would have killed her. Falada saw everything and remembered it all. Now the maid rode on Falada, and the true princess rode on the nag, until they arrived at the royal castle. The prince rushed out to meet them, lifted the maid from her horse, thinking she was his bride, and led her upstairs to the royal chambers. The true princess had to stay outside. Then the old king looked out the window and saw the girl in the courtyard below. She was so beautiful that he went to the bride and asked, 'Who is the girl you brought with you?' 'I picked her up on the road to give me company. Give the girl some work to do, so she is not idle.' The old king had no work for her, until he said, 'There is a boy who tends the geese. She can help him.' So the goose-girl was appointed to help the boy tend the geese. Not long after, the false bride said to the prince, 'Dear husband, I beg you to do me a favor.' 'What is it?' he asked. 'I want the horse that brought me here killed, for it annoyed me on the journey.' In fact, she was afraid the horse might speak and reveal the truth. So the poor Falada was killed. When the true princess heard this, she wept and bribed the knacker to nail Falada's head above the gate, where she passed every morning and evening. One morning, as she passed under the gate, she said to Falada's head: 'Falada, Falada, there you hang, you poor dead thing!' And the head answered: 'Princess, princess, there you pass. If your mother knew this, her heart would break!' Then she went quietly into the field and sat down. She began to comb her hair, which was so beautiful that it shone like gold. The boy, Curdkin, saw her and wanted to pull some of her hair. So she sang: 'Blow, wind, blow, Take Curdkin's hat, And make him chase it Until I have combed my hair.' The wind blew his hat far away, and he had to chase it. When he came back, she had finished combing her hair and had put it up. So he got none of it. When Curdkin went home, he would not eat a bite. His mother asked what was wrong, and he told her that the goose-girl would not let him pull her hair. The next day, when they were tending the geese, as soon as the girl began to comb her hair, he tried again. But she sang as before, and the wind blew his hat away, and he had to chase it. When he returned, her hair was done up, and he got none of it. That evening, Curdkin told his mother again, and she said, 'Tomorrow I will come with you and see.' The next day, the girl combed her hair, and Curdkin tried to pull some. But she sang, and the wind carried his hat away. When he returned, she had finished. But his mother asked, 'Wasn't that beautiful? Your hair shone like gold!' The girl was silent. So the mother said, 'Tomorrow, you shall sit with the boy and tend the geese from the stone seat.' The next morning, the girl and Curdkin sat on the stone seat, and the mother said, 'Goose-girl, tell me about yourself.' So the girl told her everything. The mother listened, then went to the king and told him all she had heard. The next day, the king sat on his throne and called the princess before him. But she wept and begged him not to make her tell, for she had sworn by the open sky not to reveal what had happened. But the king said, 'If you will not tell me, then tell your sorrows to the iron stove.' So she crept into the stove and wept and poured out her heart. The king stood outside, listening to everything she said. Then he came in and told her to change back into her royal clothes. When she did so, she was so beautiful that no one could look away. The king called his son and told him that the maid was false, and that the true bride stood before him. The young king was overjoyed. A great feast was held, and the prince was married to the true princess. The false bride was condemned to death. But the princess asked that her life be spared. So the king said, 'Then you shall not be my daughter-in-law's maid. You shall tend the geese with Curdkin.' So the false bride was made to tend geese for the rest of her days.

Une princesse en route pour son mariage fut trahie par sa suivante qui l'obligea a echanger leurs places. La vraie princesse garda les oies. Elle parlait a la tete de Falada chaque jour. Le roi decouvrit la verite en l'ecoutant parler au fourneau. La fausse fiancee fut punie et la vraie epousa le prince.