Philipp Otto Runge

“ HERE was once a Fisherman, who lived with his Wife in a miserable little hovel close to the sea. He went to fish every day, and he fished and fished, and at last one day, as he was sitting looking deep down into the shining water, he felt something on his line. When he hauled it up there was a great Flounder on the end of the line. The Flounder said to him, ‘Listen, Fisherman, I beg you not to kill me: I am no common Flounder, I am an enchanted prince! What good will it do you to kill me? I shan’t be good to eat ”

“ A great wind arose over the land, the clouds flew across the sky, and it grew as dark as night; the leaves fell from the trees, and the water foamed and dashed upon the shore. In the distance the ships were being tossed to and fro on the waves, and he heard them firing signals of distress. ”

“ Once, when the wife went into the room upstairs, her little daughter followed her, and said,
"Mother, give me an apple."
"Yes, my child," said the mother, and gave her a fine apple out of the chest, and the chest had a great heavy lid with a strong iron lock.
"Mother," said the little girl, "shall not my brother have one too?" ”

“ So he went, feeling very frightened, and he shivered and shook, and his knees trembled; and there arose a great wind, and the clouds flew by, and it grew very dark, and the sea rose mountains high, and the ships were tossed about, and the sky was partly blue in the middle, but at the sides very dark and red, as in a great tempest. ”

“ So the man went back, and when he got to the door, he found that the whole palace was made of polished marble, with alabaster figures and golden decorations. Soldiers marched up and down before the doors, blowing their trumpets and beating their drums. Inside the palace, counts, barons, and dukes walked about as attendants, and they opened to him the doors, which were of pure gold.
He went in, and saw his Wife sitting on a huge throne made of solid gold. It was at least two miles high. She had on her head a great golden crown set with diamonds three yards high. ”

“ Then the father said again,
"Where is my son?"
"Oh," said the mother, "he is gone into the country to his great-uncle's to stay for a little while."
"What should he go for?" said the father, "and without bidding me good-bye, too!"
"Oh, he wanted to go so much, and he asked me to let him stay there six weeks; he will be well taken care of." ”

“ She doesn’t want to live in our miserable hovel any longer, she wants a pretty cottage.’
‘Go home again then,’ said the Flounder, ‘she has her wish fully.’
The Man went home and found his Wife no longer in the old hut, but a pretty little cottage stood in its place, and his Wife was sitting on a bench by the door. ”

“ Versions of The Juniper Tree include: "The Juniper Tree" in German Popular Stories (1826) (transcription project) "The Juniper Tree" in Grimm's Goblins (1876) See also "The Juniper Tree" (1912) , Taylor translation, revised by Marian Edwardes
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. ”

“ Everything went well for a week or more, and then said the Wife, ‘Listen, husband, this cottage is too cramped, and the garden is too small. The Flounder could have given us a bigger house. I want to live in a big stone castle. ”