The Donkey Cabbage

: The Yellow Fairy Book

There was once a young Hunter who went boldly into the forest.

He had a merry and light heart, and as he went whistling along

there came an ugly old woman, who said to him, 'Good-day, dear

hunter! You are very merry and contented, but I suffer hunger

and thirst, so give me a trifle.' The Hunter was sorry for the

poor old woman, and he felt in his pocket and gave her all he

could spare. He was going on then, but the old woman stopped him

and said, 'Listen, dear hunter, to what I say. Because of your

kind heart I will make you a present. Go on your way, and in a

short time you will come to a tree on which sit nine birds who

have a cloak in their claws and are quarrelling over it. Then

take aim with your gun and shoot in the middle of them; they will

let the cloak fall, but one of the birds will be hit and will

drop down dead. Take the cloak with you; it is a wishing-cloak,

and when you throw it on your shoulders you have only to wish

yourself at a certain place, and in the twinkling of an eye you

are there. Take the heart out of the dead bird and swallow it

whole, and early every morning when you get up you will find a

gold piece under your pillow.'



The Hunter thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself 'These

are splendid things she has promised me, if only they come to

pass!' So he walked on about a hundred yards, and then he heard

above him in the branches such a screaming and chirping that he

looked up, and there he saw a heap of birds tearing a cloth with

their beaks and feet, shrieking, tugging, and fighting, as if

each wanted it for himself. 'Well,' said the Hunter, 'this is

wonderful! It is just as the old woman said'; and he took his

gun on his shoulder, pulled the trigger, and shot into the midst

of them, so that their feathers flew about. Then the flock took

flight with much screaming, but one fell dead, and the cloak

fluttered down. Then the Hunter did as the old woman had told

him: he cut open the bird, found its heart, swallowed it, and

took the cloak home with him. The next morning when he awoke he

remembered the promise, and wanted to see if it had come true.

But when he lifted up his pillow, there sparkled the gold piece,

and the next morning he found another, and so on every time he

got up. He collected a heap of gold, but at last he thought to

himself, 'What good is all my gold to me if I stay at home? I

will travel and look a bit about me in the world.' So he took

leave of his parents, slung his hunting knapsack and his gun

round him, and journeyed into the world.



It happened that one day he went through a thick wood, and when

he came to the end of it there lay in the plain before him a

large castle. At one of the windows in it stood an old woman

with a most beautiful maiden by her side, looking out. But the

old woman was a witch, and she said to the girl, 'There comes one

out of the wood who has a wonderful treasure in his body which we

must manage to possess ourselves of, darling daughter; we have

more right to it than he. He has a bird's heart in him, and so

every morning there lies a gold piece under his pillow.'



She told her how they could get hold of it, and how she was to

coax it from him, and at last threatened her angrily, saying,

'And if you do not obey me, you shall repent it!'



When the Hunter came nearer he saw the maiden, and said to

himself, 'I have travelled so far now that I will rest, and turn

into this beautiful castle; money I have in plenty.' But the

real reason was that he had caught sight of the lovely face.



He went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably

entertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with

the witch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked

in her eyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then

the old witch said, 'Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not

feel when it is gone.' She prepared a drink, and when it was

ready she poured it in a goblet and gave it to the maiden, who

had to hand it to the hunter.



'Drink to me now, my dearest,' she said. Then he took the

goblet, and when he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came

out of his mouth. The maiden had to get hold of it secretly and

then swallow it herself, for the old witch wanted to have it.

Thenceforward he found no more gold under his pillow, and it lay

under the maiden's; but he was so much in love and so much

bewitched that he thought of nothing except spending all his time

with the maiden.



Then the old witch said, 'We have the bird-heart, but we must

also get the wishing-cloak from him.'



The maiden answered, 'We will leave him that; he has already lost

his wealth!'



The old witch grew angry, and said, 'Such a cloak is a wonderful

thing, it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must

and will.' She beat the maiden, and said that if she did not

obey it would go ill with her.



So she did her mother's bidding, and, standing one day by the

window, she looked away into the far distance as if she were very

sad.



'Why are you standing there looking so sad?' asked the Hunter.



'Alas, my love,' she replied, ' over there lies the granite

mountain where the costly precious stones grow. I have a great

longing to go there, so that when I think of it I am very sad.

For who can fetch them? Only the birds who fly; a man, never.'



'If you have no other trouble,' said the Hunter, 'that one I can

easily remove from your heart.'



So he wrapped her round in his cloak and wished themselves to the

granite mountain, and in an instant there they were, sitting on

it! The precious stones sparkled so brightly on all sides that

it was a pleasure to see them, and they collected the most

beautiful and costly together. But now the old witch had through

her caused the Hunter's eyes to become heavy.



He said to the maiden, 'We will sit down for a little while and

rest; I am so tired that I can hardly stand on my feet.'



So they sat down, and he laid his head on her lap and fell

asleep. As soon as he was sound asleep she unfastened the cloak

from his shoulders, threw it on her own, left the granite and

stones, and wished herself home again.



But when the Hunter had finished his sleep and awoke, he found

that his love had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild

mountain. 'Oh,' said he, 'why is faithlessness so great in the

world?' and he sat down in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what

to do.



But the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on

it and traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three

of them striding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen

into a deep sleep.



The giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and

said, 'What sort of an earthworm is that?'



The second said, 'Crush him dead.'



But the third said contemptuously, 'It is not worth the trouble!

Let him live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the

mountain the clouds will take him and carry him off.'



Talking thus they went away. But the Hunter had listened to

their talk, and as soon as they had gone he rose and climbed to

the summit. When he had sat there a little while a cloud swept

by, and, seizing him, carried him away. It travelled for a time

in the sky, and then it sank down and hovered over a large

vegetable garden surrounded by walls, so that he came safely to

the ground amidst cabbages and vegetables. The Hunter then

looked about him, saying, 'If only I had something to eat! I am

so hungry, and it will go badly with me in the future, for I see

here not an apple or pear or fruit of any kind--nothing but

vegetables everywhere.' At last he thought, 'At a pinch I can

eat a salad; it does not taste particularly nice, but it will

refresh me.' So he looked about for a good head and ate it, but

no sooner had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls than he felt

very strange, and found himself wonderfully changed. Four legs

began to grow on him, a thick head, and two long ears, and he saw

with horror that he had changed into a donkey. But as he was

still very hungry and this juicy salad tasted very good to his

present nature, he went on eating with a still greater appetite.

At last he got hold of another kind of cabbage, but scarcely had

swallowed it when he felt another change, and he once more

regained his human form.



The Hunter now lay down and slept off his weariness. When he

awoke the next morning he broke off a head of the bad and a head

of the good cabbage, thinking, 'This will help me to regain my

own, and to punish faithlessness.' Then he put the heads in his

pockets, climbed the wall, and started off to seek the castle of

his love. When he had wandered about for a couple of days he

found it quite easily. He then browned his face quickly, so that

his own mother would not have known him, and went into the

castle, where he begged for a lodging.



'I am so tired,' he said, 'I can go no farther.'



The witch asked, 'Countryman, who are you, and what is your

business?'



He answered, 'I am a messenger of the King, and have been sent to

seek the finest salad that grows under the sun. I have been so

lucky as to find it, and am bringing it with me; but the heat of

the sun is so great that the tender cabbage threatens to grow

soft, and I do not know if I shall be able to bring it any

farther.'



When the old witch heard of the fine salad she wanted to eat it,

and said, 'Dear countryman, just let me taste the wonderful

salad.'



'Why not?' he answered; 'I have brought two heads with me, and

will give you one.'



So saying, he opened his sack and gave her the bad one. The

witch suspected no evil, and her mouth watered to taste the new

dish, so that she went into the kitchen to prepare it herself.

When it was ready she could not wait till it was served at the

table, but she immediately took a couple of leaves and put them

in her mouth. No sooner, however, had she swallowed them than

she lost human form, and ran into the courtyard in the shape of a

donkey.



Now the servant came into the kitchen, and when she saw the salad

standing there ready cooked she was about to carry it up, but on

the way, according to her old habit, she tasted it and ate a

couple of leaves. Immediately the charm worked, and she became a

donkey, and ran out to join the old witch, and the dish with the

salad in it fell to the ground. In the meantime, the messenger

was sitting with the lovely maiden, and as no one came with the

salad, and she wanted very much to taste it, she said, 'I don't

know where the salad is.'



Then thought the Hunter, 'The cabbage must have already begun to

work.' And he said, 'I will go to the kitchen and fetch it

myself.'



When he came there he saw the two donkeys running about in the

courtyard, but the salad was lying on the ground.



'That's all right,' said he; 'two have had their share!' And

lifting the remaining leaves up, he laid them on the dish and

brought them to the maiden.



'I am bringing you the delicious food my own self,' he said, 'so

that you need not wait any longer.'



Then she ate, and, as the others had done, she at once lost her

human form, and ran as a donkey into the yard.



When the Hunter had washed his face, so that the changed ones

might know him, he went into the yard, saying, 'Now you shall

receive a reward for your faithlessness.'



He tied them all three with a rope, and drove them away till he

came to a mill. He knocked at the window, and the miller put his

head out and asked what he wanted.



'I have three tiresome animals,' he answered, 'which I don't want

to keep any longer. If you will take them, give them food and

stabling, and do as I tell you with them, I will pay you as much

as you want.'



The miller replied, 'Why not? What shall I do with them?'



Then the Hunter said that to the old donkey, which was the witch,

three beatings and one meal; to the younger one, which was the

servant, one beating and three meals; and to the youngest one,

which was the maiden, no beating and three meals; for he could

not find it in his heart to let the maiden be beaten.



Then he went back into the castle, and he found there all that he

wanted. After a couple of days the miller came and said that he

must tell him that the old donkey which was to have three

beatings and only one meal had died. 'The two others,' he added,

'are certainly not dead, and get their three meals every day, but

they are so sad that they cannot last much longer.'



Then the Hunter took pity on them, laid aside his anger, and told

the miller to drive them back again. And when they came he gave

them some of the good cabbage to eat, so that they became human

again. Then the beautiful maiden fell on her knees before him,

saying, 'Oh, my dearest, forgive me the ill I have done you! My

mother compelled me to do it; it was against my will, for I love

you dearly. Your wishing-cloak is hanging in a cupboard, and as

for the bird-heart I will make a drink and give it back to you.'



But he changed his mind, and said, 'Keep it; it makes no

difference, for I will take you to be my own dear true wife.'



And the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happy together

till death.