The Seven Ravens
“The Seven Ravens” a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm from an original German folk tale.
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“The Seven Ravens” a German fairy tale in ‘A Collection of Popular Tales from the Norse and North German’ by GEORGE WEBBE DASENT, D.C.L.,
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Synopsis
of the tale by the Brothers Grimm
A peasant has seven sons and no daughter. Finally a daughter is born, but is sickly. The father sends his sons to fetch water for her, in the German version to be baptized, in the Greek version to take water from a healing spring. In their haste, they drop the jug in the well. When they do not return, their father thinks that they have gone off to play and curses them and so they turn into ravens.
When the sister is grown, she sets out in search of her brothers. She attempts to get help first from the sun, which is too hot, then the moon, which craves human flesh, and then the morning star. The star helps her by giving her a chicken bone (in the German) or a bat’s foot (in the Greek) and tells her she will need it to save her brothers. She finds them on the Glass Mountain. In the Greek version, she opens it with the bat’s foot, in the German, she has lost the bone, and chops off a finger to use as a key. She goes into the mountain, where a dwarf tells her that her brothers will return. She takes some of their food and drink and leaves in the last cup a ring from home.
When her brothers return, she hides. They turn back into human form and ask who has been at their food. The youngest brother finds the ring, and hopes it is their sister, in which case they are saved. She emerges, and they return home.
Tale
‘A man had seven sons, but however much he wished for a daughter, he did not have one yet. Finally his wife gave him hope for another child, and when it came into the world it was indeed a girl. Great was their joy, but the child was sickly and small, and because of her weakness, she was to be given an emergency baptism.
The father sent one of the boys to run quickly to the well and get some water for the baptism. The other six ran along with him. Because each one of them wanted to be first one to dip out the water, the jug fell into the well. There they stood not knowing what to do, and not one of them dared to go home.
When they did not return the father grew impatient, and said, “They have forgotten what they went after because they were playing, those godless boys.”
Fearing that the girl would die without being baptized, he cried out in anger, “I wish that those boys would all turn into ravens.”
He had hardly spoken these words when he heard a whirring sound above his head, and looking up, he saw seven coal-black ravens flying up and away.
The parents could not take back the curse, and however sad they were at the loss of their seven sons, they were still somewhat comforted because of their dear little daughter, who soon gained strength and became more beautiful every day.
For a long time she did not know that she had had brothers, for her parents took care not to mention them to her. However, one day she accidentally overheard some people talking about her. They said that she was beautiful enough, but that in truth she was to blame for her seven brothers’ misfortune. This troubled her greatly, and she went to her father and mother and asked them if she indeed had had brothers, and what had happened to them.
Her parents could no longer keep the secret, but said that it had been heaven’s fate, and that her birth had been only the innocent cause. However, this ate at the girl’s conscience every day, and she came to believe that she would have to redeem her brothers.
She had neither rest nor peace until she secretly set forth and went out into the wide world, hoping to find her brothers and to set them free, whatever it might cost. She took nothing with her but a little ring as a remembrance from her parents, a loaf of bread for hunger, a little jug of water for thirst, and a little chair for when she got tired.
She walked on and on — far, far to the end of the world. She came to the sun, but it was too hot and terrible, and ate little children. She hurried away, and ran to the moon, but it was much too cold, and also frightening and wicked, and when it saw the child, it said, “I smell, smell human flesh.”
Then she hurried away, and came to the stars, and they were friendly and good to her, each one sitting on its own little chair. When the morning star arose, it gave her a chicken bone, and said, “Without that chicken bone you cannot open the glass mountain, and your brothers are inside the glass mountain.”
The girl took the bone, wrapped it up well in a cloth, and went on her way again until she came to the glass mountain. The door was locked, and she started to take out the chicken bone, but when she opened up the cloth, it was empty. She had lost the gift of the good stars.
What could she do now? She wanted to rescue her brothers, but she had no key to the glass mountain. The good little sister took a knife, cut off one of her little fingers, put it into the door, and fortunately the door opened.
After she had gone inside a little dwarf came up to her and said, “My child, what are you looking for?”
“I am looking for my brothers, the seven ravens,” she replied.
The dwarf said, “The lord ravens are not at home, but if you want to wait here until they return, step inside.”
Then the dwarf carried in the ravens’ dinner on seven little plates, and in seven little cups. The sister ate a little bit from each plate and took a little sip from each cup. Into the last cup she dropped the ring that she had brought with her.
Suddenly she heard a whirring and rushing sound in the air, and the dwarf said, “The lord ravens are flying home now.”
They came, wanted to eat and drink, and looked for their plates and cups. Then one after the other of them said, “Who has been eating from my plate? Who has been drinking from my cup? It was a human mouth.”
When the seventh one came to the bottom of his cup, the ring rolled toward him. Looking at it, he saw that it was a ring from their father and mother, and said, “God grant that our sister might be here; then we would be set free.”
The girl was listening from behind the door, and when she heard this wish she came forth. Then the ravens were restored to their human forms again. They hugged and kissed one another, and went home happily.’
Analysis
The Tale features a woman rescuing her brothers. In the era and region in which it was collected, many men were drafted by kings for soldiers, to be sent as mercenaries. As a consequence, many men made their daughters their heirs; however, they also exerted more control over them and their marriages. The stories have been interpreted as a wish by women for the return of their brothers, freeing them from this control. However, the issues of when the stories were collected are unclear, and stories of this type have been found in many other cultures, where this issue can not have inspired them.
Some folklorists connect this tale to the more general practice of ultimogeniture, in which the youngest child would inherit.
In the original oral version, there were three, not seven ravens; one study of German folk tales found that of 31 variants collected after the publication of Grimms’ Fairy Tales, only two followed the Grimms in having seven ravens.
Seven Ravens
Tale from ‘A Collection of Popular Tales from the Norse and North German’
BY
GEORGE WEBBE DASENT, D.C.L.,
FORMERLY EDITOR LONDON TIMES.
— —
HON. RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D.,
EDITOR IX CHIEF.
J. W. BUEL, PH.D.,
MANAGING EDITOR.
— — —
PUBLISHED BT THE
NORRŒNA SOCIETY
LONDON STOCKHOLM COPENHAGEN BERLIN NEW YORK 1907
The Tale
As many strange things come to pass in the world, so there was a poor woman who had seven sons at a birth, all of whom lived and throve. After some years, the same woman had a daughter. Her husband was a very industrious and active man, on which account people in want of a handicraftsman were very willing to take him into their service, so that he could not only support his numerous family in an honest manner, but earned so much that, by prudent economy, his wife was enabled to lay by a little money for a rainy day. But this good father died in the prime of life, and the poor widow soon fell into poverty; for she could not earn enough to support and clothe her eight children. Her seven boys grew bigger, and daily required more and more, besides which they were a great grief to their mother, for they were wild and wicked. The poor woman could hardly stand against all the afflictions that weighed so heavily upon her. She wished to bring up her children in the paths of virtue, but neither mildness nor severity availed anything: the boys’ hearts were hardened. One day, when her patience was quite exhausted, she spoke thus to them: “Oh, you wicked young ravens! would that you were seven black ravens, and would fly away, so that I might never see you again!” and the seven boys immediately became seven ravens, flew out of the window, and disappeared.
The mother now lived with her little daughter in peace and contentment, and was able to earn more than she spent. And the young girl grew up handsome, modest, and good. But after some years had passed, both mother and daughter began to long after the seven boys; they often talked about them and wept; they thought, that could only the seven brothers return and be good lads, how well they could all live by their work and have so much pleasure in one another. And as this longing in the heart of the young maiden increased daily, she one day said to her mother: “Dear mother, let me wander in the world in quest of my brothers, that I may turn them from their wicked ways, and make them a comfort and a blessing to you in your old age.” The mother answered: “Thou good girl! I will not restrain thee from accomplishing this pious deed. Go, my child! and may God guide thee.” She then gave her a small gold ring which she had formerly worn when a child, at the time the brothers were changed into ravens.
The young girl set out, and wandered far, very far away, and for a very long time found no traces of her brothers; but at length she came to the foot of a very high mountain, on the top of which stood a small dwelling. At the mountain’s foot she sat down to rest, all the while looking up in deep thought at the little habitation. It appeared at first to her like a bird’s nest, for it was of a grayish hue, as if built of small stones and mud; then it looked like a human dwelling. She thought within herself: “Can that be my brothers’ habitation?” And when she at length saw seven ravens flying out of the house, she was confirmed in her conjecture. Full of joy, she began to ascend the mountain, but the road that led to the summit was paved with such curious glass-like stones, that every time she had with the greatest caution proceeded but a few paces, her feet slipped and she fell down to the bottom. At this she was sadly disheartened, and felt completely at a loss how to get up, when she chanced to see a beautiful white goose, and thought: “If I had only thy wings, I could soon be at the top.” She then thought again: “But can I not cut thy wings off? yes, they would help me.” So she caught the beautiful goose, and cut off its wings, also its legs, and sewed them on to herself; and see! when she attempted to fly, she succeeded to perfection; and when she was tired of flying, she walked a. little on the goose’s feet, and did not slip down again. She arrived at length safely at the desired spot. When at the top of the mountain, she entered the little dwelling; it was very small; within stood seven tiny tables, seven little chairs, seven little beds, and in the room were seven little windows, and in the oven seven little dishes, in which were little baked birds and seven eggs. The good sister was weary after her long journey, and rejoiced that she could once again take some rest and appease her hunger. So she took the seven little dishes out of the oven and ate a little from each, and sat down for a while on each of the seven little chairs, and lay down on each of the little beds, but on the last she fell fast asleep, and there remained until the seven brothers came back. They flew through the seven windows into the room, took their dishes out of the oven, and began to eat; but instantly saw that a part of their fare had disappeared. They then went to lie down, and found their beds rumpled, when one of the brothers uttered a loud cry, and said: “Oh! what a beautiful young girl there is on my bed!” The other brothers flew quickly to see, and with amazement beheld the sleeping maiden. Then the one said to the other: “Oh, if only she were our sister!” Then they again cried out to each other with joy: “Yes, it is our sister; oh yes, it is, just such hair she had, and just such a mouth, and just such a little gold ring she wore on her middle finger as she now has on her little one.” And they all danced for joy, and all kissed their sister, but she continued to sleep so soundly, that it was a long time before she awoke.
At length the maiden opened her eyes, and saw her seven black brothers standing about the bed. She then said: “Oh happy meeting, my dear brothers; God be praised that I have at length found you! I have had a long and tedious journey on your account, in the hope of fetching you back from your banishment, provided your hearts are inclined never more to vex and trouble your good mother; that you will work with us diligently, and be the honour and comfort of your old affeationate parent.” During this discourse the brothers wept bitterly, and answered: “Yes, dearest sister, we will be better, never will we offend our mother again. Alas! as ravens we have led a miserable life, and before we built this hut we almost perished with hunger and cold. Then came repentance, which racked us day and night; for we were obliged to live on the bodies of poor executed criminals, and were thereby always reminded of the sinner’s end.”
The sister shed tears of joy at her brothers’ repentance, and on hearing them utter such pious sentiments: “Oh!” exclaimed she, “all will be well. When you return home, and your mother sees how penitent you are, she will forgive you from her heart, and restore you to your human form.”
When the brothers were about to return home with their sister, they said, while opening a small box: “Dear sister, take these beautiful gold rings and shining stones, which we have from time to time found abroad: put them in your apron and carry them home with you, for with them we shall be rich as men. As ravens we collected them only on account of their brilliancy.” The sister did as her brothers requested her, and was pleased with the beautiful ornaments. As they journeyed home, first one of the ravens and then another bore their sister on their pinions, until they reached their mother’s dwelling, when they flew in at the window and implored her forgiveness, and promised that in future they would be dutiful children. Their sister also prayed and supplicated for them, and the mother was full of joy and love, and forgave her seven sons. They then became human beings again, and were fine blooming youths, each one as large and graceful as the other. With heartfelt gratitude they kissed their dear mother and darling sister; and soon after, all the seven brothers married young discreet maidens, built themselves a large beautiful house (for they had sold their jewels for a considerable sum of money), and the house-warming was the wedding of all the seven, brothers. Their sister was also married to an excellent man, and, at the earnest desire of her brothers, she and her husband took up their abode with them.
The good mother had great joy and pleasure in her children in her old age, and as long as she lived was loved and honoured by them.
