Grimm's Fairy Tales | The 3 Languages | Fundevogel

Hello there.

Thank you so much for joining me for this reading of two more of the Grimm's Fairy Tales.

This will be a reading of The Three Languages and Vundervogel.

There were originally more than 200 folk tales gathered together by the brothers Grimm,

Jacob and Wilhel Grimm,

And those were published in the 1800s in Germany.

If you're not familiar with the stories,

They do form the backbone of so many of the fairy tales that we know and love at this point,

And a lot of them can come across as quite grim to our modern ears.

For now,

Before we get into the stories,

Let's just take a moment here to have a nice deep exhale.

Letting go of the day,

Letting go of whichever baggage we might be bringing along with us into this moment.

For right now,

There's nothing else we have to do,

Nowhere else we have to be.

So we can just relax,

Get ourselves comfortable,

And enjoy two more of the fascinating Grimm's Fairy Tales.

The Three Languages.

An aged count once lived in Switzerland who had an only son,

But he was stupid and could learn nothing.

Then said the father,

Hark you my son,

Try as I will,

I can get nothing into your head.

You must go from hence,

I will give you into the care of a celebrated master,

Who shall see what he can do with you.

The youth was sent into a strange town and remained a whole year with the master.

At the end of this time he came home again and his father asked,

Now,

My son,

What have you learnt?

Father,

I have learnt what the dogs say when they bark.

Lord have mercy on us,

Cried the father.

Is that all you have learnt?

I will send you into another town,

To another master.

The youth was taken thither and stayed a year with this master likewise.

When he came back,

The father again asked,

My son,

What have you learnt?

He answered,

Father,

I have learnt what the birds say.

Then the father fell into a rage and said,

Oh,

You lost man.

You have spent the precious time and learnt nothing.

Are you not ashamed to appear before my eyes?

I will send you to a third master,

But if you learn nothing this time also,

I will no longer be your father.

The youth remained a whole year with the third master also,

And when he came home again and his father inquired,

My son,

What have you learnt?

He answered,

Dear father,

I have this year learnt what the frogs croak.

Then the father fell into the most furious anger,

Sprang up,

Called his people thither and said,

This man is no longer my son.

I drive him forth and command you to take him out into the forest and kill him.

They took him forth,

But when they should have killed him,

They could not do it for pity and let him go,

And they cut the eyes and tongue out of a deer that they might carry them to the old man as a token.

The youth wandered on,

And after some time came to a fortress where he begged for a night's lodging.

Yes,

Said the lord of the castle,

If you will pass the night down there in the old tower,

Go thither.

But I warn you,

It is at the peril of your life,

For it is full of wild dogs which bark and howl without stopping,

And at certain hours a man has to be given to them,

Whom they at once devour.

The whole district was in sorrow and dismay because of them,

And yet no one could do anything to stop this.

The youth,

However,

Was without fear and said,

Just let me go down to the tower,

And there is nothing to harm me.

As he himself would have it so,

They gave him some food for the wild animals and led him down to the tower.

When he went inside,

The dogs did not bark at him,

But wagged their tails quite amicably around him,

Ate what he set before them,

And did not hurt one hair of his head.

Next morning,

To the astonishment of everyone,

He came out again,

Safe and unharmed,

And said to the lord of the castle,

The dogs have revealed to me,

In their own language,

Why they dwell there and bring evil on the land.

They are bewitched and are obliged to watch over a great treasure which is below in the tower,

And they can have no rest until it is taken away.

And I have likewise learnt from their discourse how that is to be done.

Then all who heard this rejoiced,

And the lord of the castle said he would adopt him as a son.

If he accomplished it successfully,

He went down again,

And as he knew what he had to do,

He did it thoroughly.

And brought a chest full of gold out with him.

The howling of the wild dogs was henceforth heard no more.

They had disappeared,

And the country was freed from the trouble.

After some time,

He took it into his head that he would travel to Rome.

On the way,

He passed by a marsh in which a number of frogs were sitting,

Croaking.

He listened to them,

And when he became aware of what they were saying,

He grew very thoughtful and sad.

At last,

He arrived in Rome,

Where the pope had just died,

And there was great doubt among the cardinals as to whom they should appoint as his successor.

They at length agreed that the person should be chosen as pope who should be distinguished by some divine and miraculous token.

And just as that was decided on,

The young count entered into the church,

And suddenly two snow white doves flew on his shoulders and remained sitting there.

The ecclesiastics recognised therein the token from above,

And asked him on the spot if he would be pope.

He was undecided,

And knew not if he were worthy of this.

But the doves counselled him to do it,

And at length he said yes.

Then he was anointed and consecrated,

And thus was fulfilled what he had heard from the frogs on his way,

Which had so affected him that he was to be his holiness,

The pope.

Then he had to sing a mass,

And did not know one word of it,

But the two doves sat continually on his shoulders and said it all in his ear.

Fundevogel.

There was once a forester who went into the forest to hunt,

And as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming,

As if a little child were there.

He followed the sound,

And at last came to a high tree,

And at the top of this a little child was sitting.

For the mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child,

And a bird of prey had seen it in her arms,

Had flown down,

Snatched it away,

And set it on the high tree.

The forester climbed up,

Brought the child down,

And thought to himself,

You will take him home with you,

And bring him up with your Lina.

He took it home therefore,

And the two children grew up together.

And the one which he had found on a tree was called Fundevogel,

Because a bird had carried it away.

Fundevogel and Lina loved each other so dearly,

That when they did not see each other they were sad.

Now the forester had an old cook,

Who one evening took two pails and began to fetch water,

And did not go once only,

But many times out to the spring.

Lina saw this and said,

Listen old Santa,

Why are you fetching so much water?

If you'll never repeat it to anyone,

I will tell you why.

So Lina said no,

She would never repeat it to anyone,

And then the cook said,

Early tomorrow morning,

When the forester is out hunting,

I will heat the water,

And when it is boiling in the kettle,

I will throw in Fundevogel,

And will boil him in it.

Early next morning,

The forester got up and went out hunting,

And when he was gone,

The children were still in bed.

Then Lina said to Fundevogel,

If you will never leave me,

I too will never leave you.

Fundevogel said,

Neither now nor ever will I leave you.

Then said Lina,

Then will I tell you.

So,

Last night,

Old Santa carried so many buckets of water into the house,

That I asked her why she was doing that,

And she said that if I would promise not to tell anyone,

And she said that early tomorrow morning when father was out hunting,

She would set the kettle full of water,

Throw you into it,

And boil you.

But we will get up quickly,

Dress ourselves,

And go away together.

The two children therefore got up,

Dressed themselves quickly,

And went away.

When the water in the kettle was boiling,

The cook went into the bedroom to fetch Fundevogel and throw him into it,

But when she came in and went to the beds,

Both the children were gone.

Then she was terribly alarmed,

And she said to herself,

What shall I say now?

When the forester comes home and sees that the children are gone,

They must be followed instantly to get them back again.

Then the cook sent three servants after them,

Who were to run and overtake the children.

The children,

However,

Were sitting outside the forest,

And when they saw from afar the three servants running,

Lina said to Fundevogel,

Never leave me,

And I will never leave you.

Fundevogel said,

Neither now,

Nor ever.

Then said Lina,

Do you become a rose-tree,

And I the rose upon it?

When the three servants came to the forest,

Nothing was there but a rose-tree,

And one rose on it,

But the children were nowhere.

Then they said,

There is nothing to be done here,

And they went home,

And told the cook that they had seen nothing in the forest but a little rose-bush with one rose on it.

Then the old cook scolded and said,

You simpletons!

You should have cut the rose-bush in two,

And have broken off the rose and brought it home with you.

Go and do it at once.

They had,

Therefore,

To go out and look for the second time.

The children,

However,

Saw them coming from a distance.

Then Lina said,

Fundevogel,

Never leave me,

And I will never leave you.

Fundevogel said,

Neither now,

Nor ever.

Said Lina,

Then do you become a church,

And I'll be the chandelier in it.

So when the three servants came,

Nothing was there but a church with a chandelier in it.

They said,

Therefore,

To each other,

What can we do here?

Let us go home.

When they got home,

The cook asked if they had not found them.

So they said,

No,

They had found nothing but a church,

And there was a chandelier in it.

And the cook scolded them and said,

You fools!

Why did you not pull the church to pieces and bring the chandelier home with you?

And now the old cook herself got on her legs and went with the three servants in pursuit of the children.

The children,

However,

Saw from afar that the three servants were coming and the cook waddling after them.

Then said Lina,

Fundevogel,

Never leave me,

And I will never leave you.

Then said Fundevogel,

Neither now,

Nor ever.

Said Lina,

Be a fishpond,

And I will be the duck upon it.

The cook,

However,

Came up to them,

And when she saw the pond,

She lay down by it and was about to drink it up.

But the duck swam quickly to her,

Seized her head in its beak and drew her into the water,

And there the old witch had to drown.

Then the children went home together and were heartily delighted.

And if they have not died,

They are living still.