Grimms' Fairy Tales - Illustrated Classic

Author: Green
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Once upon a time, there was a poor woman who had a little boy. A prophet foretold that the boy would marry a princess when he turned fourteen. Soon after, the king happened to visit the village and heard the prophecy, becoming very angry. He had no intention of letting his daughter marry such a poor boy. He went into the family's house and pretended to be very kind to the couple, saying, "You must be living very poorly. Give me your child, and I will treat him well." The couple thought that this child was lucky and that his fortune had finally come. So they agreed to give the child to the stranger. The king placed the boy in a paper box and rode his horse forward until he reached a very deep river. He threw the box into the water. But the box did not sink; instead, it floated on the water like a small boat. It drifted along until it reached the side of a mill. The miller and his wife, who had no children of their own, were very happy to see the boy and took him in. The little boy grew up happily in the miller's house. One day, during a heavy rainstorm, the king came to the mill to. He saw the boy and found him very familiar, so he asked the miller and his wife if the tall young man was their son. "No," the miller and his wife replied, "Fourteen years ago, a box containing him drifted down the river and got stuck in our dam. Our young man rescued him from the water." The king immediately understood—this young man was the lucky one he had once thrown into the river! So he said, "My kind subjects, can you let this young man deliver a letter to the queen for me? I will reward him with two gold coins." The miller and his wife dared not disobey the king's command and agreed. The king wrote a letter to the queen, saying, "As soon as the boy delivering this letter arrives, execute him immediately." The boy set off with the letter, but he got lost. By nightfall, he arrived at a large forest. In the darkness, he saw a faint light and walked toward it, only to find a small hut ahead. The boy entered the hut and saw an old woman sitting alone by the fireplace. When she saw the boy, she jumped in surprise and said, "Poor child, you've come to the thieves' den. They will kill you when they come back."