A little brother took his little sister by the hand and
said, "Ever since our mother died, we've not had one moment of happiness.
Our stepmother beats us every day, and when we come near her, she kicks us away
with her foot. We get nothing but hard crusts of bread, just leftovers for
food, and the dog under the table is better off. At least he gets a good chunk
of meat to eat every now and then. Lord have mercy on us, if our mother only
knew! Come, let's go off together into the wide world."
So they went away and came to a large forest, where they
were so sad and so tired that they crept into a hollow tree and just wanted to
die from hunger. Then they both fell asleep. When they woke the next morning,
the sun was already high in the sky and warmed the hollow tree with its rays.
"Little sister," said the little brother after a
while, "I'm thirsty. If only I knew where to find a spring, I'd go and
have a drink right away. Listen, I think I hear one trickling."
"What good will that do?" the little sister
answered. "Why do you want to drink when we just want to die from
hunger?"
The little brother kept quiet and climbed out of the hollow
tree, and since he always held his sister's hand tightly, she had to climb out
with him.
Now, their evil stepmother was a witch, and when she had
noticed that the two children had left, she followed them and caused a clear
little stream near the tree to trickle from some rocks and form a spring. The
trickling spring was intended to lure the children and make their mouths water.
But whoever drank from the spring would be changed into a little fawn.
The little brother soon came to the spring with his sister,
and when he saw the glittering water trickle over the stones into the spring,
his thirst became even greater, and he wanted to drink some of the water. However, the little sister was
fearful. She thought she heard the spring speak to her as it trickled:
"Whoever drinks me will be changed into a fawn! Whoever drinks me will be
changed into a fawn!" So, she begged her little brother not to drink the
water.
"I don't hear anything," said the little brother.
"I just hear how lovely the water is trickling. Let me go!"
Upon saying this he lay down on the ground, leaned over,
and drank, and as soon as he felt the first drop of water on his lips, he was
changed into a little fawn sitting beside the spring.
The little sister wept and wept. However, the witch was
angry that she hadn't been able to lure the little sister to drink the water as
well. After the girl wept for three days, she stood up, gathered some
bulrushes, and wove them into a soft rope. Then she attached it to the little
fawn and led him with her. She looked for a cave, and when she found one, she
carried moss and foliage inside and made a soft bed for him. The next morning
she went out with the fawn to a place with tender grass, and there she gathered
the most beautiful grass, which he ate out of her hand. The fawn was delighted
and romped about on the hills. In the evening when the little sister was tired,
she laid her head on the back of the fawn. It was her pillow, and this is how
she fell asleep. If only her brother could have retained his human form, it
would have been a wonderful life.
For many years they lived like this in the forest. Then one
day the king went out on a hunt, and when he became lost, he stumbled upon the
maiden with the little animal in the forest and was amazed by her beauty. He
lifted her up onto his horse and took her with him, while the fawn, attached by
the rope, ran along side. At the royal court the maiden was treated with honor.
Beautiful young women had to serve her, but she herself was more beautiful than
any of the other ladies. She never let the fawn out of her sight, and she
tended him with care. Shortly after her arrival the queen mother died, and the
king wed the sister, and they lived together in great joy.
However, the stepmother had heard about the good fortune of
the poor little sister. She had thought that the maiden had long since been
torn to pieces by wild beasts, but they had never done anything to her. Indeed,
the maiden was now the queen of the realm. The witch was so angry about this
that she could only think of some way she might ruin the queen's happiness.
When the queen gave birth to a handsome prince the next
year and the king was out hunting, the witch appeared in the form of a
chambermaid and entered the room where the queen was recovering from the birth.
"The bath has been prepared for you," she said.
"It will do you good and strengthen you. Come, before the water becomes
too cold."
The witch led the queen into the bathroom and locked the
door behind her. Inside there was a brutally hot fire, and the beautiful queen
was suffocated to death.
Now the witch had a daughter of her own, and she endowed
her with the outward shape of the queen and laid her in bed in place of the
queen. In the evening when the king returned home. he didn't realize that he had a false wife. But in the
night—and the nurse saw this—the real queen appeared in the room. She went to
the cradle, lifted the child to her breast, and suckled him. Then she plumped
up his tiny mattress, laid the baby in the cradle again, and covered him. After
this, she went into the corner, where the fawn slept, and stroked his back.
This was how she came and went every night without saying a word.
One
time, however, she entered again and said:
"How's my child? How's my fawn?
Twice
more I'll come, then I'll be gone."
Then
she did what she had usually done the other nights. Meanwhile, the nurse woke
the king and told him secretly what had occurred. So the next night the king
kept watch, and he, too, saw how the queen came, and he clearly heard her
words.
"How's my child? How's my fawn?
Once
more I'll come, then I'll be gone."
However,
he didn't dare to speak to her. The following night he kept watch again, and
the queen said:
"How's my child? How's my fawn?
There's
no more time. Soon I'll be gone."
The king could no longer restrain himself. He sprang forth and embraced
her, and as soon as he touched her, she was restored to life, rosy red and
well. The false queen was led into the forest, where the wild beasts devoured
her. The evil stepmother was burned at the stake, and as the fire consumed her,
the fawn was transformed, and brother and sister were once again together and
lived happily until the end of their days.
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