The Goose Girl
Encyclopedia
The Goose Girl is a German
fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
. Since the second edition published in 1819, The Goose Girl has been recorded as Tale no. 89.
It was first published in 1815 as no. 3 in vol. 2 of the first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales—Grimms' Fairy Tales). It was translated into English by Margaret Hunt in 1884. Andrew Lang
included it in The Blue Fairy Book.
, a waiting-maid, and a horse for each of them; the princess's horse is named Falada and has the ability to speak. The queen takes a small knife and cuts herself, putting three drops of her blood onto a white handkerchief and bids her daughter to keep it with her, as it will aid her on her journey.
The princess and her waiting-maid travel for a time, then the princess grows thirsty. She asks the maid to go and fetch her some water, but the girl refuses, so the princess goes and drinks water from the stream from her goblet. The princess sighs and the drops of blood - hidden in the princess's bodice
- reply, "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." The princess and the waiting-maid travel on, and the princess grows thirsty again. By that time, the princess had forgotten the waiting-maid's rude speech earlier and asks the waiting-maid again, "Waiting maid, please fetch me some water with my goblet for I have grown thirsty again." "No," she replies, "if you are thirsty, go and get it yourself. I shall not be your waiting maid any longer." The maid sounded stern and furious, so she stops and drops her goblet to be the same as everyone else. She drinks with her hands. The princess does not notice that her handkerchief with the drops of blood on it falls out of her bodice and into the stream.
Deprived of the magical protection of her mother's handkerchief and blood, the princess is defenseless when the maid makes her change places, including their horses and dresses. She is also forced to take an oath not to speak of the switch. When they reach their destination, the maid continues the charade, going so far as to have the horse Falada butchered, for fear he would reveal the secret. In addition, she informs the king that the princess is merely a peasant girl procured for the journey and now unneeded. He puts the princess to work.
The princess - now a goose girl - promises the butcher a piece of gold if he would give Falada a proper burial. The butcher hangs out Falada's head on the wall of the gate. Every morning, as she drives out the geese with Conrad, the goose herder, she sadly greets Falada's head and Falada's head repeats the same words previously spoken by the drops of blood: "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." Every day, she combs her hair in the pasture. Conrad always tries to steal some of the golden locks, and she charms the wind to blow his hat far away, so he can not return until she is finished. The prince comes to her pasture and falls in love with her.
Conrad goes to the king and declares he will not herd geese with the princess any longer because of the strange things that happen. The king tells him to do it one more time, and the king himself hides and watches. That evening, the king asks the princess to tell him her story. She explains that she took an oath not to tell. He tells her to tell her troubles to the iron stove
and eavesdrops as she does so.
The king then has royal garments given to her as befits her station, and brings her to the prince's attention. At dinner later that evening, everyone eats and drinks and is quite merry. The princess and the waiting-maid are present, although the waiting-maid does not recognize the princess in her new finery. The king tells the princess's story, without naming any names, and asks the waiting-maid what the appropriate punishment would be. The waiting-maid answers that such a person should be put naked into a barrel lined with nails, which should be dragged by horses from street to street until the person is dead. The sentence is carried out on her, and the prince marries the true princess.
and turned into a common goose girl. It is Aarne-Thompson type 533. Another tale of this type is The Golden Bracelet
. These motifs are also found, centered on a male character, in Child ballad 271, The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward
and the chivalric romance Roswall and Lillian
.
by Shannon Hale. Harold MacGrath
also adapted it into a novel, which itself was developed into a 1915 film starring Marguerite Clark
. In Germany, there are many film adaptions of the story.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
. Since the second edition published in 1819, The Goose Girl has been recorded as Tale no. 89.
It was first published in 1815 as no. 3 in vol. 2 of the first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales—Grimms' Fairy Tales). It was translated into English by Margaret Hunt in 1884. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Blue Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A queen sends her daughter - who is betrothed to a prince in a far-off land - to her bridegroom. She sends her with a trousseauTrousseau
Trousseau may refer to:*A dowry*The outfit of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing*A name for the Bastardo grape in some regions*A white mutation of the Trousseau grape, known as Trousseau Gris...
, a waiting-maid, and a horse for each of them; the princess's horse is named Falada and has the ability to speak. The queen takes a small knife and cuts herself, putting three drops of her blood onto a white handkerchief and bids her daughter to keep it with her, as it will aid her on her journey.
The princess and her waiting-maid travel for a time, then the princess grows thirsty. She asks the maid to go and fetch her some water, but the girl refuses, so the princess goes and drinks water from the stream from her goblet. The princess sighs and the drops of blood - hidden in the princess's bodice
Bodice
A bodice, historically, is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. In modern usage it typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from...
- reply, "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." The princess and the waiting-maid travel on, and the princess grows thirsty again. By that time, the princess had forgotten the waiting-maid's rude speech earlier and asks the waiting-maid again, "Waiting maid, please fetch me some water with my goblet for I have grown thirsty again." "No," she replies, "if you are thirsty, go and get it yourself. I shall not be your waiting maid any longer." The maid sounded stern and furious, so she stops and drops her goblet to be the same as everyone else. She drinks with her hands. The princess does not notice that her handkerchief with the drops of blood on it falls out of her bodice and into the stream.
Deprived of the magical protection of her mother's handkerchief and blood, the princess is defenseless when the maid makes her change places, including their horses and dresses. She is also forced to take an oath not to speak of the switch. When they reach their destination, the maid continues the charade, going so far as to have the horse Falada butchered, for fear he would reveal the secret. In addition, she informs the king that the princess is merely a peasant girl procured for the journey and now unneeded. He puts the princess to work.
The princess - now a goose girl - promises the butcher a piece of gold if he would give Falada a proper burial. The butcher hangs out Falada's head on the wall of the gate. Every morning, as she drives out the geese with Conrad, the goose herder, she sadly greets Falada's head and Falada's head repeats the same words previously spoken by the drops of blood: "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." Every day, she combs her hair in the pasture. Conrad always tries to steal some of the golden locks, and she charms the wind to blow his hat far away, so he can not return until she is finished. The prince comes to her pasture and falls in love with her.
Conrad goes to the king and declares he will not herd geese with the princess any longer because of the strange things that happen. The king tells him to do it one more time, and the king himself hides and watches. That evening, the king asks the princess to tell him her story. She explains that she took an oath not to tell. He tells her to tell her troubles to the iron stove
Quibble (plot device)
In literature, a quibble is a common plot device, used to fulfill the exact verbal conditions of an agreement in order to avoid the intended meaning. Its most common uses are in legal bargains and, in fantasy, magically enforced ones....
and eavesdrops as she does so.
The king then has royal garments given to her as befits her station, and brings her to the prince's attention. At dinner later that evening, everyone eats and drinks and is quite merry. The princess and the waiting-maid are present, although the waiting-maid does not recognize the princess in her new finery. The king tells the princess's story, without naming any names, and asks the waiting-maid what the appropriate punishment would be. The waiting-maid answers that such a person should be put naked into a barrel lined with nails, which should be dragged by horses from street to street until the person is dead. The sentence is carried out on her, and the prince marries the true princess.
Variants
The story uses the false bride plot with a good-hearted princess being seized by her maidFalse hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
and turned into a common goose girl. It is Aarne-Thompson type 533. Another tale of this type is The Golden Bracelet
The Golden Bracelet
The Golden Bracelet is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Aunt Lizbeth Fields.It is Aarne-Thompson type 533...
. These motifs are also found, centered on a male character, in Child ballad 271, The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward
The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward
The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward or The Lord of Lorn and the Flas Steward or The Lord of Lorn is Child ballad number 271.A ballad, Lord of Lorn and the False Steward, was entered in the Stationers' Register in 1580, with a note that it is to the tune of Greensleeves.-Synopsis:The son of the...
and the chivalric romance Roswall and Lillian
Roswall and Lillian
Roswall and Lillian is a medieval Scottish chivalric romance. A late appearing tale, it nevertheless draws heavily on folkloric motifs for its account of an exiled prince, reduced to poverty, who rises from it to win a princess.-Synopsis:...
.
Adaptations
Some more recent versions of this fairy tale include The Goose GirlThe Goose Girl (novel)
The Goose Girl is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same title. The book won the 2003 Josette Frank Award for youth fiction.-Plot summary:...
by Shannon Hale. Harold MacGrath
Harold MacGrath
Harold MacGrath was a bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was born in Syracuse, New York...
also adapted it into a novel, which itself was developed into a 1915 film starring Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clark was an American stage and silent film actress.-Early life and theater:Born to a farming family in Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio, Clark was educated at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cincinnati...
. In Germany, there are many film adaptions of the story.