the girl without hands

jacob and wilhelm grimm

a miller1 fell slowly but surely into poverty, until finally he had nothing more than his mill and a large apple tree which stood behind it. one day he had gone into the forest to gather wood, where he was approached by an old man, whom he had never seen before, and who said, "why do you torment2 yourself with chopping wood? i will make you rich if you will promise me that which is standing3 behind your mill."

"what can that be but my apple tree?" thought the miller, said yes, and signed it over to the strange man.

the latter, however, laughed mockingly and said, "i will come in three years and get what belongs to me," then went away.

when he arrived home, his wife came up to him and said, "miller, tell me, where did all the wealth come from that is suddenly in our house? all at once all the chests and boxes are full, and no one brought it here, and i don't know where it came from."

he answered, "it comes from an strange man whom i met in the woods and who promised me great treasures if i would but sign over to him that which stands behind the mill. we can give up the large apple tree for all this."

"oh, husband!" said the woman, terrified. "that was the devil. he didn't mean the apple tree, but our daughter, who was just then standing behind the mill sweeping4 the yard."

the miller's daughter was a beautiful and pious5 girl, and she lived the three years worshipping god and without sin. when the time was up and the day came when the evil one was to get her, she washed herself clean and drew a circle around herself with chalk. the devil appeared very early in the morning, but he could not approach her.

he spoke6 angrily to the miller, "keep water away from her, so she cannot wash herself any more. otherwise i have no power over her."

the miller was frightened and did what he was told. the next morning the devil returned, but she had wept into her hands, and they were entirely7 clean.

thus he still could not approach her, and he spoke angrily to the miller, "chop off her hands. otherwise i cannot get to her."

the miller was horrified8 and answered, "how could i chop off my own child's hands!"

then the evil one threatened him, saying, "if you do not do it, then you will be mine, and i will take you yourself."

this frightened the father, and he promised to obey him. then he went to the girl and said, "my child, if i do not chop off both of your hands, then the devil will take me away, and in my fear i have promised him to do this. help me in my need, and forgive me of the evil that i am going to do to you."

she answered, "dear father, do with me what you will. i am your child," and with that she stretched forth9 both hands and let her father chop them off.

the devil came a third time, but she had wept so long and so much onto the stumps10, that they were entirely clean. then he had to give up, for he had lost all claim to her.

the miller spoke to her, "i have gained great wealth through you. i shall take care of you in splendor11 as long as you live."

but she answered, "i cannot remain here. i will go away. compassionate12 people will give me as much as i need."

then she had her mutilated arms tied to her back, and at sunrise she set forth, walking the entire day until it was night. she came to a royal garden, and by the light of the moon she saw that inside there were trees full of beautiful fruit. but she could not get inside, for there it was surrounded by water.

having walked the entire day without eating a bite, she was suffering from hunger, and she thought, "oh, if only i were inside the garden so i could eat of those fruits. otherwise i shall perish."

then she kneeled down and, crying out to god the lord, she prayed. suddenly an angel appeared. he closed a head gate, so that the moat dried up, and she could walk through.

she entered the garden, and the angel went with her. she saw a fruit tree with beautiful pears, but they had all been counted. she stepped up to the tree and ate from it with her mouth, enough to satisfy her hunger, but no more. the gardener saw it happen, but because the angel was standing by her he was afraid and thought that the girl was a spirit. he said nothing and did not dare to call out nor to speak to the spirit. after she had eaten the pear she was full, and she went and lay down in the brush.

the king who owned this garden came the next morning. he counted the fruit and saw that one of the pears was missing. he asked the gardener what had happened to it. it was not lying under the tree, but had somehow disappeared.

the gardener answered, "last night a spirit came here. it had no hands and ate one of the pears with its mouth."

the king said, "how did the spirit get across the water? and where did it go after it had eaten the pear?"

the gardener answered, "someone dressed in snow-white came from heaven and closed the head gate so the spirit could walk through the moat. because it must have been an angel i was afraid, and i asked no questions, and i did not call out. after the spirit had eaten the pear it went away again."

the king said, "if what you said is true, i will keep watch with you tonight."

after it was dark the king entered the garden, bringing a priest with him who was to talk to the spirit. all three sat down under the tree and kept watch. at midnight the girl came creeping out of the brush, stepped up to the tree, and again ate off a pear with her mouth. an angel dressed in white was standing next to her.

the priest walked up to them and said, "have you come from god, or from the world? are you a spirit or a human?"

she answered, "i am not a spirit, but a poor human who has been abandoned by everyone except god."

the king said, "even if you have been abandoned by the whole world, i will not abandon you."

he took her home with him to his royal castle, and because she was so beautiful and pure he loved her with all his heart, had silver hands made for her, and took her as his wife.

after a year the king had to go out into the battlefield, and he left the young queen in the care of his mother, saying, "if she has a child, support her and take good care of her, and immediately send me the news in a letter."

she gave birth to a beautiful son. the old mother quickly wrote this in a letter, giving the joyful13 news to the king.

now on the way the messenger stopped at a brook14 to rest. tired from his long journey, he fell asleep. then the devil came to him. he still wanted to harm the pious queen, and he took the letter, putting in its place one that stated that the queen had brought a changeling into the world. when the king read this letter he was frightened and saddened, but nevertheless he wrote an answer that they should take good care of the queen until his return. the messenger returned with this letter, but he rested at the same place, and again fell asleep. the devil came again and placed a different letter in his bag. this letter said that they should kill the queen with her child.

the old mother was terribly frightened when she received this letter. she could not believe it, and wrote to the king again, but she got back the same answer, because each time the devil substituted a false letter. and the last letter even stated that they should keep the queen's tongue and eyes as proof.

the old mother lamented15 that such innocent blood was to be shed, and in the night she had a doe killed, cut out its tongue and eyes, and had them put aside.

then she said to the queen, "i cannot have you killed as the king has ordered, but you can no longer stay here. go out into the wide world with your child, and never come back."

the old mother tied the queen's child onto her back, and the poor woman went away with weeping eyes. she came to a great, wild forest where she got onto her knees and prayed to god. then the angel of the lord appeared to her and led her to a small house. on it was a small sign with the words, "here anyone can live free."

a snow-white virgin16 came from the house and said, "welcome, queen," then led her inside. she untied17 the small boy from her back, held him to her breast so he could drink, and then laid him in a beautiful made-up bed.

then the poor woman said, "how did you know that i am a queen?"

the white virgin answered, "i am an angel, sent by god to take care of you and your child."

she stayed in this house for seven years, and was well taken care of. and through the grace of god and her own piety18 her chopped-off hands grew back.

the king finally came back home from the battlefield, and the first thing he wanted to do was to see his wife and their child.

then the old mother began to weep, saying, "you wicked man, why did you write to me that i was to put two innocent souls to death," and she showed him the two letters that the evil one had counterfeited19. then she continued to speak, "i did what you ordered," and showed him as proof the eyes and the tongue.

then the king began to weep even more bitterly for his poor wife and his little son, until the old woman had mercy and said to him, "be satisfied that she is still alive. i secretly had a doe killed and took the proofs from it. i tied your wife's child onto her back and told her to go out into the wide world, and she had to promise never to come back here, because you were so angry with her."

then the king said, "i will go as far as the sky is blue, and will neither eat nor drink until i have found my dear wife and my child again, provided that in the meantime they have not died or perished from hunger."

then the king traveled about for nearly seven years, searching in all the stone cliffs and caves, but he did not find her, and he thought that she had perished. he neither ate nor drank during the entire time, but god kept him alive. finally he came to a great forest, where he found a little house with a sign containing the words, " here anyone can live free."

the white virgin came out, took him by the hand, led him inside, and said, "welcome, king," then asked him where he had come from.

he answered, "i have been traveling about for nearly seven years looking for my wife and her child, but i cannot find them."

the angel offered him something to eat and drink, but he did not take it, wanting only to rest a little. he lay down to sleep, covering his face with a cloth.

then the angel went into the room where the queen was sitting with her son, whom she normally called "filled-with-grief."

the angel said to her, "go into the next room with your child. your husband has come."

she went to where he was lying, and the cloth fell from his face.

then she said, "filled-with-grief, pick up the cloth for your father and put it over his face again."

the child picked it up and put it over his face again. the king heard this in his sleep and let the cloth fall again.

then the little boy grew impatient and said, "mother, dear, how can i cover my father's face? i have no father in this world. i have learned to pray, 'our father which art in heaven,' and you have said that my father is in heaven, and that he is our dear god. how can i know such a wild man? he is not my father."

hearing this, the king arose and asked who she was.

she said, "i am your wife, and this is your son filled-with-grief."

he saw her living hands and said, "my wife had silver hands."

she answered, "our merciful god has caused my natural hands to grow back."

the angel went into the other room, brought back the silver hands, and showed them to him. now he saw for sure that it was his dear wife and his dear child, and he kissed them, and rejoiced, and said, "a heavy stone has fallen from my heart."

then the angel of god gave them all something to eat, and then they went back home to his old mother. there was great joy everywhere, and the king and the queen conducted their wedding ceremony once again, and they lived happily until their blessed end.

从前有位磨房主，他越来越穷，除了磨房后有棵大大的苹果树外一无所有。有一天，他到森林里去砍柴，一个他从没见过的老头走近前来对他说：「你何苦这么辛苦地砍柴呀？

只要你答应把你磨房后的东西给我，我就让你过富人的日子。」

「磨房后面不就是那棵苹果树吗？」磨房主想。「行。」他说着就写了个承诺给陌生人。陌生人嘲笑地说：「三年之后，我会来取走属於我的东西。」说完便走了。

磨房主回到家中，妻子迎出来对他说：「快告诉我，咱们家这些财富突然从甚么地方来的？家里所有的箱笼一下子全被装满了，又没人来过，到底是怎么回事呀？」磨房主回答说：「是我在森林里碰到的一个陌生人给的。他只要我们磨房后的东西作为回报。我们把那棵大苹果树给他不就得了。」

「唉呀，老公，」妻子吓坏了，「那准是恶魔！他不是要苹果树，他要的是我们女儿，她正在磨房后面扫院子呢。」

磨房主的女儿是个美丽、虔诚的姑娘，她敬畏上帝、没犯任何过失。三年过去了，在恶魔要来带她走那天，她将自己从头到脚洗得乾乾净净，用粉笔绕着自己画了一个圈。恶魔很早就来了，可就是没法靠近姑娘。他怒气沖沖地对磨房主说：「把水全给我拿走！让她没法洗得那么乾净。要不然我对她就没有魔法了。」

磨房主害怕，只得照办。第二天，恶魔又来了。可姑娘的泪水把她的手沖得十分乾净。恶魔还是没法靠近她，因此气势汹汹地对磨房主说：「把她的手砍掉，要不然我对她就没有魔力了！」磨房主吓了一跳，回答说：「我怎么能砍自己孩子的手呢！」恶魔威胁说：「如果你不这么做，你就是我的，我就要把你带走。」这位父亲吓坏了，答应照他说的去做。他走到女儿跟前，对她说：「我的孩子，假如我不砍掉你的手，恶魔就要把我抓走，我吓坏了，就答应了他。现在请你帮帮我，饶恕我对你的伤害吧。」姑娘回答说：「亲爱的父亲，尽管砍吧，我是你的孩子。」说着，她伸出了双手，让父亲砍下了。

恶魔第三次来到磨房。可是姑娘一直在哭泣，泪水将残肢沖洗得十分洁净。恶魔只好放弃了，而且对姑娘失去了所有权。

磨房主对女儿说：「我以你为代价换取了这么多财富。只要你活着，我就会让你过得舒舒服服的。」可是姑娘回答说：「我不能住在这里，我情愿出去，有同情心的人们会给我所需要的东西的，」她请人将她残废的手绑到身后，等太阳升起来的时候，便出发了。她走了一整天，太阳下山时她来到一个皇家花园，在闪烁的月光中，她看到园子里挂满了诱人的果子的果树。但是她无法进去，因为果园被一道满是水的深壕围住了。

姑娘已经走了整整一天了，而且没吃过任何东西。她饿得要命。「啊，如果我在果园里面就能吃到水果了，」她想，「否则我准会饿死的！」她跪到地上向上帝祈祷。忽然，有个天使向她走来，在水中筑起一道堤坝。这样一来，壕中的水干了，姑娘就可以走到果园去了，天使陪着她一起进了果园。果园的树上挂满了迷人的梨子，可每个上面都编了号，姑娘来到梨子树前，用嘴咬下一只吃了，然后满足地钻进了灌木丛。园丁看到了这一切，可见天使站在姑娘身边，便以为是幽灵，有些害怕，所以不敢出声，更不敢大声喊叫。

果园的主人是个国王。第二天，他来到果园数梨时发现少了一个，而且并没有落在地上。他问园丁怎么回事，园丁回复说：「昨晚来了个幽灵，没有手，用嘴咬掉了一个。」「幽灵怎么越过水沟的呢？吃完梨之后上哪儿去了呢？」国王问。

园丁回答说：「有个浑身雪白的人从天而降。他筑起一道堤坝拦住了水，让幽灵走了过来。我想那人准是个天使，所以有些惧怕，没敢出声。幽灵吃完梨就走了。」

「我今晚和你一起看看是不是真像你说的那样。」国王说。

天黑了，国王带着牧师来到果园。他要牧师来是为了和幽灵对话。他们三人坐在树下等着、看着。半夜时分，姑娘从灌木丛里爬了出来，走到梨树下，用嘴咬下一个梨，身穿白袍的天使仍然陪着她。牧师从树下走出来对他们说：「你们是从天上来的，还是从地下来的？是人还是鬼？」姑娘回答说：「我不是鬼，我是个不幸的人。除了上帝外，人人都抛弃了我。」国王接口说：「即使世界上所有的人都抛弃了你，我也不会那么做的。」他将姑娘带回王宫，姑娘的美貌和善良使国王深深地爱上了她。他为姑娘做了一双银手，并娶她为妻。

一年以后，国王不得不远行。他将年轻的王后托咐给母亲，说：「假如她生了孩子，请好好照顾她，同时尽快把消息告诉我。」后来姑娘果真生了个健康漂亮的男孩，国王年迈的母亲立刻将这一令人振奋的消息写在信上派人给国王送去。但送信人在路上的一条小溪边歇息的时候睡着了。再说那个恶魔一直想伤害好心的王后。这时，他将另一封信放进信使的口袋里，上面说王后生了一个妖怪。国王收到信后十分震惊，而且百思不得其解。他回信要大家仍悉心照料王后，一切等他回来再说。送信人带着国王的信往回走，又在来时歇息的地方打了个盹。恶魔又把另一封信装进信使的口袋，上面要他们将王后和她生的孩子处死。

国王的母亲见信后大惊失色，简直不敢相信。因此又写了一封信给国王，可是没有回音。因为恶魔每次都把信换了。最后一封信上要求把王后的舌头和眼睛挖出来留作服从国王命令的见证。

国王的母亲哭了，她不愿意看到无辜的人被杀害。於是她趁天黑时杀了一头鹿，留下了舌头和眼睛，然后对王后说：「我不愿按国王的命令杀你，但是你不能再住在这儿了。带着孩子走吧，别再回来。」

可怜的妇人把孩子背到背上，含泪离开了王宫。她来到一座大森林里，跪下来向上帝祈祷。天使来到她跟前，把她领到一座小屋前。那里挂着一块牌子，上面写着：「一切免费。」一位雪白的侍女从屋里走出来说：「欢迎你，王后。」然后将她引进屋里。她将孩子从王后背上解下来，抱到她怀里让孩子吃奶，随后将孩子放到一张做得极其精緻的小床上。可怜的妇人问：「你怎么知道我是个王后。」白侍女回答说：「我是个天使，上帝派我来照顾你和孩子的。」王后在这里生活了七年，受到很好的照顾。由於她虔诚地信仰上帝，因此上帝让她被砍断的双手又长了出来。

国王终於归来了，他的第一个愿望就是看看他的妻子和儿子。他年迈的妈妈哭着对他说：「你这个坏傢伙，为甚么写信要我杀那两个无辜的人？」她拿出那两封被恶魔换了的信给国王看，接着说：「我已经照办了。」说着拿出舌头和眼睛作证。

国王为可怜的妻子和儿子痛哭流涕，伤心的程度远超过他母亲。老母看他哭得实在可怜，就对他说：「别哭了，她还活着。我悄悄地杀了一头鹿，取了那些证物。实际上我把孩子绑到你妻子的背上，让她到野外谋生，要她别再回来，因为你信上似乎对她很恼怒。」国王说：「只要我亲爱的妻子和儿子没被杀害或饿死，走遍天崖海角我也一定要找到他们，否则我不吃也不喝。」

於是国王找了七年，不吃也不喝，但是上帝在暗中帮助他支撑着。他找遍了每一个石缝、每一个山洞，但还是没有找到，他想她准是因为缺衣少食死了。最后他来到了大森林，看到了小屋和上面挂着的「一切免费」的牌子。白衣侍女走出来，拉着他的手将他领进屋子说：「欢迎光临，国王陛下。」又问他从何而来。国王回答说：「我出来寻找我妻子和孩子已经七年了，我几乎找遍了每一个地方，可就是找不到。」天使请国王吃点肉、喝点酒，国王甚么也没吃，说只想休息一下。

他躺下，将一块手帕遮在脸上睡了。

天使走进王后和她儿子「悲伤」住的房间，对她说：「带着孩子出去吧，你丈夫找你们来了。」於是王后带着儿子来到国王睡觉的地方。手帕从国王的脸上滑落到地上，王后对儿子：「悲伤，去把你父亲的手帕捡起来，盖到他脸上。」孩子走过去，捡起手帕盖到国王脸上。国王在睡梦中听到了，便很高兴地让手帕再次滑落到地上。可孩子不耐烦地说：「亲爱的母亲，我在这世上不是没父亲吗？你怎么叫我用手帕盖住父亲的脸？我已经学会祈祷'我们在天之父'，你不是说我父亲在天国吗，是仁慈的上帝，现在怎么又说这陌生人是我父亲？他不是我父亲。」国王一听，马上坐了起来，问他们是谁。王后回答说：「我是你的妻子，他是你的儿子'悲伤'。」

国王看到王后那双自然生长的手，说：「我妻子的手是银子做的。」王后回答说：「仁慈的上帝让我又长出了一双手。」天使走进内室，拿出那双银手给国王看。这时国王才确信这就是他亲爱的妻子和儿子，他亲吻了他们，高兴地说：「这下我心中的石头算是落地了。」

上帝派来的天使和他们一起吃了最后一顿饭。随后国王带着妻儿回到王宫，见到了老母亲，到处一片欢腾。国王和王后再次举行了婚礼，从此永远幸福满足地生活在一起。