Little Brother and Little Sister
Once upon a time, there was a brother and a sister. One day the brother said to his sister, “Oh, Little Sister! We don’t have a good life anymore since our mother died, and we live with our nasty stepmother. We should go out into the wide, wide world and search for our happiness.”
His sister said, “Yes, you are right, Little Brother. We have no more good times here. Come, let us go out into the wide, wide world.” Said. Done.
So, the brother and sister started on a late summer day out into the wide, wide world. They walked and walked, and one day came to a vast, deep woods. After a while, they came upon a well. The brother was thirsty on this hot summer day; however, their nasty stepmother, a witch, had cursed the well. When the brother started to drink, the well said, “Who drinks from me will turn into a tiger. Who drinks from me will turn into a tiger.”
His sister cried, “Please, dear Little Brother, don’t drink. If you drink, you will turn into a tiger and tear me up.”
Her brother said, “It is so hot, and I am so thirsty, but you are right. If I drink, then I will turn into a tiger and rip you up. I will not do that to my sister”.
They walked farther through the deep woods until, after a while, the brother spoke again. “Oh, Little Sister, I am so thirsty. I have such a terrible thirst”.
They soon came to another enchanted well. This well said, “Whoever drinks from me will turn into a wolf. Whoever drinks from me will turn into a wolf”.
The sister again begged her brother, “Dear Little Brother, please don’t drink. If you drink, you will turn into a wolf and eat me.”
The brother said, “I have such a terrible thirst, Little Sister, but you are right. If I drink, I will turn into a wolf and eat you up and that I don’t want to do. I love you.”
The two siblings walked farther into the forest. As they walked, the brother said, “Oh, Little Sister, I have such a terrible thirst that I cannot go on. I cannot go farther”.
He had no sooner said this when they came to another cursed well. This well said, “Whoever drinks from me will turn into a deer. Whoever drinks from me will turn into a deer.”
The sister cried, “Oh, dear Little Brother, please do not drink any water. If you drink this water, you will turn into a deer and run away from me, and I will be alone.”
Her brother replied, “Little Sister, you are right, but I cannot stand it anymore. The heat is unbearable, and I have such a thirst. I am so thirsty that I must drink something.”
With that, he drank the water and immediately changed into a deer. The sister cried and cried bitterly. But what could she do? She wove a little rope out of grass and tied it around his neck. Then the two went farther into the deep, dark woods until they came to a little house. The sister knocked, but no one answered. She opened the door and saw that no one lived there.
She said, “Come, Little Brother. We can live here.”
The sister gathered grass and straw, and they went into the little house. There the brother and sister lived for a while, happy, and content. But the girl was sad that her brother was a deer.
One day the king organized a hunt in the forest. When the deer heard the hunting horn, he begged his sister, “Oh Little Sister, oh Little Sister, please let me join the hunt. I want to go outside. I can’t stand it anymore”.
The sister took off the little deer’s collar and held him by the neck. She said, “I will let you go, but you must return before it is dark.”
The little deer promised to be back and sprang outside when the girl opened the door. The little deer had a lot of fun the entire day, from the hunt, and from hearing the hunting horn calls.
That evening he arrived back at the little house before it was dark and cried, “Dear Little Sister, this is your little deer. Please let me come in.”
A servant of the king observed the little deer as he stood before the door and spoke. The servant ran to his master and told him everything.
The next day, the king organized another hunt, and the little deer begged his sister again, “Please let me outside. I want to join the hunt. I cannot stand it anymore.”
The sister said, “You didn’t cause me any trouble yesterday. You came back on time, so you should have your pleasure and happiness. Enjoy yourself on the hunt!”
The sister opened the door, and the deer sprang merrily out into the forest. The little deer got into the hunt and sprang here and sprang there. The hunter tried to get the little deer, but the deer was always faster than the hunter.
That evening, as the little deer ran home, the king quietly followed him to the house. The little deer again knocked on the door and cried, “Dear Little Sister, let me in. I am your little deer.”
When his sister opened the door, the king saw that she was a lovely girl, ran to the house and said, “You are very beautiful. Come with me to my castle. I want to marry you, and you shall be my wife.”
At first, the sister was shocked. But the king spoke so kindly that she gained trust in him and accepted.
And so, the sister and the little deer came to the king’s palace. Soon the king and girl married. The wedding was a wonderful celebration lasting three days in a row. Afterward, everyone lived happily together, although the queen was sad because her brother was still a deer.
One day the king had to go to war because a neighbor threatened his country. The queen bore a beautiful son while the king was away in the war. A servant was assigned to deliver a letter to the king to tell him a beautiful son had been born. However, the mean stepmother and her ugly daughter also lived in the castle.
The daughter said, “The sister has all the luck. She is now the young queen and has brought a beautiful son into the world. I should be so lucky.”
“Just you wait!” said the old stepmother. “I will think it over.”
The old stepmother changed herself into a servant and went to the queen, saying, “A young mother should have a warm bath. I will prepare one for you.”
The queen answered, “Yes, please do so. That would be fine.”
The stepmother, however, put such hot water in the bath that the queen soon suffocated. The stepmother’s favorite daughter, the ugly one, changed her appearance to look exactly like the queen.
After a while, the king came back from the war to see his young prince and was happy. Having such a beautiful son pleased him from the heart. Naturally, a servant stayed by the young prince at all times.
One night, as the servant sat by the prince’s bed, she heard the door open and saw the queen come in. However, it was not the bewitched ugly daughter of the stepmother, but rather the real queen. The queen took the little child in her arms and rocked and hugged and kissed him. She said, “My loving child, I will come back twice and then nevermore.” She then placed the little child back into the cradle and disappeared.
The next morning the servant told the king what she saw, and the king said, “I will sit by the little bed and watch the child myself.”
The king hid behind the little bed of his son and stayed the entire night. At midnight the door opened again. In came the queen. She took her son in her arms, gave him milk, hugged and kissed him, and said, “My beloved child, I will come back one more night and then nevermore.”
The king was so astounded that his mouth opened but could not bring a word out. Before he could say anything, the queen disappeared, as before.
The third night, the king said to himself, “This time, I will say something.”
That night he sat by the prince’s little bed and watched all night alongside his little son. At midnight the door again opened, the queen came in, took the small child in her arms, and said, “I have come this night and will nevermore.” She rocked and hugged and kissed her little son and placed him back in his little bed. Then, as the queen started to leave, the king said, “My dear wife, is it you?”
The spell disappeared, and the queen was again alive. The daughter of the stepmother was the old, nasty girl again.
The queen described what she had gone through, and the king was angry at the stepmother and her daughter. But the queen had a kind heart and said, “Please let them live. Please don’t kill them.”
Then the king brought his queen and little deer to the stepmother and said, “Change the little deer into her brother again.” The bad stepmother removed the curse, and the little deer was her brother again.
The queen took her brother into her arms and hugged and kissed him.
The king exiled the stepmother and her nasty daughter from the castle, and they had to live alone in the deep forest. The queen, the king, the young prince, and the queen’s brother, lived together in the castle, happy and content for many years.