11 The Riddle (Germany)

A king’s son once had a great desire to travel through the world, so he started off, taking no one with him but one trusty servant. One day he came to a great forest, and as evening drew on and he could find no shelter he could not think where to spend the night. All of a sudden he saw a pretty girl going toward a little house. He spoke to her, and said: “Dear child, could I spend the night in this house?”“Oh, yes,”said the girl in a sad tone, “but I should not advise you to do so. Better not go in.”“Why not?”asked the king’s son. The girl sighed, and answered, “My stepmother deals in black arts, and she is not friendly to strangers.”But the prince was not at all afraid and he stepped in with his groom. The old woman pretended to be quite friendly. She was cooking something in a little pot. But her daughter had warned the travelers to be careful not to eat or drink anything, as the old woman’s brews were likely to be dangerous.

They went to bed and slept soundly till morning. When they were ready to start, and the king’s son had already mounted his horse, the old woman said, “Wait a minute. I must give you a stirrup cup.”While she went to fetch it the king’s son rode off, and the groom who had waited to tighten his saddle girths was alone when the witch returned. “Take that to your master,”she said. But as she spoke the glass cracked and the poison spurted over the horse. It was so powerful the poor creature sank down dead. The servant ran after his master and told him what had happened, and then,not wishing to lose the saddle as well as the horse, he went back to fetch it. When he reached the spot he saw a raven had perched on the carcass and was pecking at it. The man shot the raven and carried it off. At nightfall they reached an inn. The servant made the landlord a present of the raven.Now, as it happened, this inn was the resort of a band of robbers, and the old witch, too, was in the habit of frequenting it. As soon as it was dark twelve thieves arrived, with the full intention of killing and robbing the strangers. However,they sat down first to table, where the landlord and the old witch joined them, and they all ate some broth in which the flesh of the raven had been boiled. They had hardly taken a couple of spoonfuls when they all fell down dead. And the prince rode on with his servant.

After traveling about for some time they reached a town where lived a lovely but arrogant princess. She had announced that anyone who asked her a riddle which she was unable to guess should be her husband, but should she guess it he must forfeit his head. She claimed three days in which to think over the riddles. The king’s son dazzled by her beauty,determined to risk his life. He came before her and propounded his riddle. “What is this?”he asked. “One slew none and yet killed twelve.”She thought and thought and looked through all her books of riddles and puzzles. She found nothing to help her and could not guess. In fact, she was at her wits’ end. As she could think of no way to guess the riddle, for two successive nights, she respectively ordered her maid and lady-in-waiting to steal at night into the prince’s bedroom and listen to his dreams. But the clever servant had taken his master’s place, and when they came, he tore off their cloaks and chased them off. On the third night the king’s son thought he really might feel safe, so he went to bed. But in the middle of the night the princess came herself, wrapped in a misty gray mantle, and sat down near him. When she thought he was fast asleep, she asked, “One slew none—what is that?”And he answered: “A raven which fed on the carcass of a poisoned horse.”“And yet killed twelve—what is that?”“Those are twelve robbers who ate the raven and died of it.”As soon as she knew the riddle she tried to slip away, but he held her mantle so tightly she was obliged to leave it behind. Next morning the princess announced she had guessed the riddle and sent for the twelve judges, before whom she declared it. But the young man begged to be heard,too, and said: “She came by night to question me.”The judges said, “Bring us some proof.”So the servant brought out the three cloaks. When the judges saw the gray one, which the princess was in the habit of wearing, they said: “Let it be embroidered with gold and silver. It shall be your wedding mantle.”

—Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm