Fairy Tale Flip is a new collaborative podcast in which we dive into the hidden meanings, background and rich context of fairy tales with Donna Lee Fields. This month (February) we are giving our viewers three options from which to choose. Three fairy tale options and at the end of the month we will dissect the winner. The Water of Life is by The Brothers Grimm (Original Story found here).
The Story:
But he begged, the elder son begged for so long that the king eventually consented. The prince thought in his heart, if I bring the water, then I shall be the best beloved son of my father, and I shall inherit the kingdom. So he set out, and when he had ridden forth a little distance, a dwarf stood in the road, who called to him, wither away so fast, silly shrimp, said the king very heartily, it is nothing to do with you. And rode on. But the little dwarf had grown angry and had wished an evil wish. Soon after this, the prince entered a ravine, and the further he rode, the closer the mountains drew together, and at last the road became so narrow that he could not advance a step further.
It was impossible to turn his horse or dismount from the saddle, and he was shut in there as if in prison. The sick king waited long for him, but he came not. Then the second son said, father, let me go forth to seek the water. And he also thought to himself, if my brother is dead, then the kingdom will fall to me. At first the king would not allow him to go either. But at last he yielded. So the prince, the second prince set out on the same road that his brother had taken. And he too, met the dwarf who stopped him to ask whether he was going in such haste. Little shrimp, said the king, that is nothing for you. And rode on without giving him another look.
But the dwarf bewitched him and he, like the other, rode into a ravine and could neither go forwards nor backwards. So, fair, haughty people, as the second son also remained away the youngest begged his king to be allowed to go forth to fetch the water. And at last the king was obliged to let him go. When he met the dwarf. And the dwarf asked him where he was going in such haste he stopped and actually gave him an explanation. I am seeking the water of life for my father is sick and on his deathbed. Do you know where it can be found? The dwarf responded, you are kind and not haughty like your brothers. I will give you the information and tell you how you may get the water of life. It springs from a fountain in the courtyard of an enchanted castle.
But you will not be able to go without this iron wand. Strike three times this wand on the iron door of the castle and it will spring open. Inside lie two lions with gaping jaws. But if you throw each loaf to them, they will be quieted. Then fetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve or else the door will shut again and you will be imprisoned. The prince thanked him, took the wand and the bread and set out on his way. When he arrived, everything was at as the dwarf had said. The door sprang open at the third stroke of the wand.
And when he had appeased the lions with the bread he entered the castle and came to a large and splendid hall where some enchanted princes who the prince removed their rings found off their fingers found a sword and a loaf of bread that were lying there and carried them away. After that, he entered a chamber in which a beautiful maiden rejoiced when she saw him, kissed him and told him that he had delivered her and he should have the entire kingdom from which she was from. And that if he returns in a year and they will have a wedding to celebrate. And she then told him where he could find the water of life but told him to do it quickly because he had to do it before the clock struck twelve. He went onwards.
And at last he entered a room where there was a newly made bed. And he was very tired and felt inclined to rest a little. So he lay down and he fell asleep. When he woke it was striking a quarter to twelve. He sprang up in a fright, ran to the spring, drew some water in a cup which stood near and hastened away. But just as he was passing through the iron dwarf the clock struck twelve and the dwarf fell with such violence that it carried a piece of his heel. He, however, was rejoicing at getting the water of life and went homewards again past the dwarf. And when he showed him the sword and the loaf the dwarf said, with those you have gotten great wealth.
With a sword you can slay it whole armies and the bread will never come to an end. But the prince would not go home to his father without his brothers. Dear dwarf, please tell me where my two brothers are. I came out in search of the water of life. They both came out in search of the water of life for my father and have not returned. They are imprisoned between two mountains, said the dwarf. I had condemned them to stay there because they were so haughty. Then the prince begged until the dwarf released them both. And he warned him, however, beware of them. They have bad hearts. When his brother came, he rejoiced and told them how things had gone with him. And he found the water of life and he brought a cupful away with him.
And he had rescued a beautiful princess who was willing to wait a year for him. And then the wedding was to be celebrated and he would obtain a great kingdom. After they rode on together and chanced upon a land where war and famine reigned. And the king already thought he must perish for the scarcity was so great. The prince went to him and gave him the loaf. The loaf where he fed and satisfied the entire kingdom. And then the prince gave him the sword also where he slew hosts of his enemy and could now live in rest and peace. The prince then took back his loaf and sword and the three brothers rode on. But after this they entered two more countries where there was war and famine. And each time the prince did the same thing.
He gave them bread and he gave them the sword. And helped us deliver the kingdoms from famine and war. After that they went on aboard and shipped and sailed of a sea. During the passage the two eldest conversed apart and said the youngest had found the water of life, not us. For that our father will give us. We want our father to give us the kingdom, not him, because that is our fortune. They then began to seek revenge and plotted against him to destroy him. They waited until they found him fast asleep. And then they poured the water of life out into their own cup and they took it for themselves. But into his cup they poured sea salt. Now, when they arrived home, the youngest took his cup to the sick king in order that he might drink it and be revived.
But as you can imagine, when the king drank the seawater, he was not cured. In fact, he became much worse. And he was lamenting over this. And then the two eldest brothers came and accused the youngest brother of having intended to poison their father, and said that they had actually brought him the true water of life and handed it to him. He had scarcely tasted it when he felt his sickness departing. And he became strong and healthy as of days of his youth. After that, they both went into the youngest, went to the youngest and mocked him and said, you certainly found the water of life, but you have had the pain and we the gain. You should have been sharper and kept your eyes open. We took it from you while you were sleeping at sea.
And when your year is over, one of us will fetch the beautiful princess. But beware that you do not disclose this to our father, indeed, because he does not trust you already. And if you say a single word against us, you will lose your life against the bargain. So keep silent and you will have your gift of life. The old king was very angry with his youngest son, who he thought had tried to poison him. So he summoned the court together and he sent his third son to death secretly. And once the prince was riding forth to chase, suspecting no evil, the king’s huntsman went with him. And they were quite alone in the forest. And the huntsman looked so sad and sorrowful. The prince turned to him and said, dear huntsman, what ails you so? And the huntsman said, I cannot tell you.
The prince says, oh, please tell me. It is fine. You can tell me. I will pardon you. Alas, said the huntsman, I am intended to shoot you dead. The king has ordered me to do it. And then the prince was shocked. Dear huntsman, please let me live. I give you my royal garments and give me your common ones instead. And so they switched clothing and the huntsman ran home in the prince’s clothing. And after a time, three wagons of gold and precious stones came to the king for his youngest son, which were sent by the three kings who had slain their enemies and with the prince’s sword and maintained their people with the bread, and who wished to show their gratitude for it. The old king was surprised. Can my son, my third son, have been innocent? The one that I sentenced to death?
But the huntsman told the king he still lives. I could not find it in my heart to carry out your commandment. And told the king how it had happened. Then a stone fell from the king’s heart, and he had proclaimed in every country that his son might return and be taken into his favor again. The prince, however, had a road made up to her palace, which was the princess. I’m sorry, the princess had the road made up to her palace, which was quite bright and golden, and told her king, her people, that whoever came riding straight along it would be the right woo and was to be admitted. And whoever rode by the side of it was not the right one and was not to be admitted.
As the time was now close at hand, the eldest thought he would hasten to go to the king’s daughter and give himself out as her deliverer, and thus win her for his bride. The kingdom, and the kingdom to boot. Therefore he rode forth. And when he arrived in front of the palace, he saw the splendid golden road, and he thought it would be a sin and a shame if he would ride over that and turned aside and rode on the right side of it. But when he came to the door, the servants told him he was not the right man and was to go away soon. Soon after that, the second son, the second prince, went out and did this very similar thing. He came to the golden road.
His horse had put 1ft on it, and he thought it would be a sin and ashamed to tread on such a beautiful golden road. And so he rode along the left side. When he reached the door, the attendants told him he was not the correct suitor, and he was to go away again. When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son, the kind son, likewise wished to ride out on the forest to his beloved, and with her forget his sorrows. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly and wished to be with her so much that he never noticed the golden road at all. So his horse rode onwards up the middle of it, and when he came to the door, it was opened.
And the princess received him with joy and said he was her deliverer and lord of the kingdom. And their wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing. When it was over, she told him that his father invited him to come to him and had forgiven him. So he rode to his father’s kingdom and told him everything. How his brothers had betrayed him, and how he had nevertheless kept silent. The old king wished to punish them, but they had gone out to sea and never come back for as long as they all lived. The end so this is one of the stories. That you can choose from the water of life, and we will be presenting other stories for you to also choose from for the end of the month for us to dive deep into. What did you think about this story?
We want to hear your comments. Please comment down below with your thoughts. Thanks so much for reading/ listening to fairytale flip. Click here to see the other two February options. Voting will be on the Facebook Community Group.