Children's stories, German -- Translations into English; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Germany
But it pained the King, and still more his daughter, that she should
be carried off by a common disbanded soldier like that. So they took
counsel with each other how to get rid of him and his companions.
Then said the King to her, “I have thought of a way. Don’t be afraid,
they shall not come back again.” And he said to them, “You shall now
make merry together, and eat and drink.”
He conducted them to a room which had a floor of iron, and the doors
also were of iron, and the windows were guarded with iron bars. There
was a table in the room covered with delicious food, and the King said
to them, “Go in, and enjoy yourselves.”
And when they were inside, he ordered the doors to be shut and bolted.
Then he sent for the cook, and commanded him to make a fire under the
room until the iron became red-hot. This the cook did, and the six who
were sitting at table began to feel quite warm, and they thought the
heat was caused by the food. But as it became still greater, and they
wanted to get out, and found that the doors and windows were bolted,
they became aware that the King had an evil intention, and wanted to
suffocate them.
“He shall not succeed, however,” said the one with the cap. “I will
cause a frost to come, before which the fire shall be ashamed, and
creep away.”
Then he put his cap on straight, and immediately there came such a
frost that all heat disappeared, and the food on the dishes began to
freeze.
When an hour or two had passed by, and the King believed that they had
perished in the heat, he had the doors opened to behold them himself.
But when the doors were opened, all six were standing there, alive
and well, and said that they should very much like to get out to warm
themselves, for the very food was fast frozen to the dishes with the
cold.
Then, full of anger, the King went down to the cook, scolded him and
asked why he had not done what he had been ordered to do. But the
cook replied, “There is heat enough there, just look yourself.” Then
the King saw that a fierce fire was burning under the iron room, and
perceived that there was no getting the better of the six in this way.
Again the King considered how to get rid of his unpleasant guests, and
caused their chief to be brought and said, “If you will take gold and
renounce my daughter, you shall have as much as you wish.”
“Oh, yes, Lord King,” he answered, “give me as much as my servant can
carry, and I will not ask for your daughter.”
On this the King was satisfied, and the other continued, “In fourteen
days, I will come and fetch it.”
Thereupon he summoned together all the tailors in the whole kingdom,
and they were to sit for fourteen days and sew a sack. And when it was
ready, the strong one who could tear up trees had to take it on his
back, and go with it to the King.
Then said the King, “Who can that strong fellow be who is carrying a
bundle of linen on his back that is as big as a house?” and he was
alarmed and said, “What a lot of gold he can carry away!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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