Hello One and All!
The Riddle is a German fairy tale that has, as the title suggests, one of those puzzling word rhymes at its center, though the tale is much more than that. It is also replete with adversity, horror and cunning. Collected in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the story made its way into English literature by 1884, when it was translated into that language by Margaret Hunt.
The Riddle
There was once a prince who loved nothing more than to travel, and he was determined to visit all of the areas known to man, accompanied by his trusted servant. One day he came upon a dark, strange forest which carpeted the whole area. The duo ventured forward though, confident that they could draw upon their experience to find a way out, but soon they found they had become lost. Darkness descended upon them, but a young woman appeared and when they drew close to her, they saw that she was stationed in front of a small shack.
The prince walked towards her. "Greetings maiden. Could we spend the night in this abode?"
"You could," she said, "but I would not recommend it as a place for anyone, sir."
"Why is that?"
The girl sighed. "I'm of that opinion because my stepmom is involved in the darkest of magic and she is not well disposed to strangers."
The prince surmised that this was a witch's hut but he had already travelled so far and the sky was tinged with darkness. He stepped past the threshold of the home.
A rocking chair stood by the fireplace, with a fragile, elderly woman seated on it.
Her red eyes settled on the pair of men and she said, "Take a seat, my guests."
The men sat down next to her, and they noticed a pot was being heated by the fire; they didn't dare to accept any of the food though, because the maiden had warned them not to eat or drink anything in the home, and they went to bed with an empty stomach.
Early the next morning they were about to mount their horses, when the old woman ventured out and told them she would get them something to drink. While she went to fetch it, the prince sped off and she gave the cup to his servant.
"Give this to your master," she said.
The glass cracked, which caused the acidic content to spill out and splash over the man's horse. The unfortunate creature died on the spot and the servant set off running into the forest. The servant had ventured quite far into he undergrowth when he remembered that the saddle was still affixed to the horse, and he circled back. He reached the carcass of his former mount, and a raven was feasting on the dead animal, and he shot the bird, to use as a source of possible food.
The servant rendezvoused with his master and they rode through the forest for a number of days, but they never reached its end. At day's end they arrived at an inn. The servant gave the innkeeper the raven, to be prepared for dinner, but other twelve inhabitants in the inn took their supper first, and they all ate of the raven broth; as soon as it reached their lips they fell over. The poison that killed the horse had been absorbed into the body of the raven, whence it was distributed to the humans. The only survivor, the landlord's daughter, stepped forward and told the two men that the building was actually a den of thieves, and the twelve robbers were planning to kill the prince and servant after supper. In thanks for freeing her from the rule for the murderers, she showed them to the full treasure room, but the prince declined to take the mountains of gold, instead saying that the girl should use it to start a new life.
The next morning the men rode onward and came to a town, where a beautiful princess had declared that anyone who confounded her with a riddle would be her husband, but if she worked it out then the suitor would be killed. She always had a three day period to solve the riddle and had been so clever that she had gotten the answer of nine riddles, and as such nine men had met their end. Her beauty was so great that the prince risked his life and posed a riddle to her:
"One slew none, and yet slew twelve. What is this?"
She retired to her room to think on the meaning of this, consulted books of great wisdom, but she could never find the answer. That first night she sent her maid to the prince's sleeping quarters, in the hope that she may overhear him mumbling the answer in his sleep; instead, she found the princes' servant under the covers, and he chased her out, ripping off her cloak in the pursuit. The second night, the princess' lady-in-waiting was sent, with the same results.
The third night arrived, and the prince thought he was surely safe, and he went to sleep on the bed in his chamber. The princess came to his quarters herself, covered by an exquisite gray cloak, and she sat beside him on his bed.
"What is the one which slew none int he riddle?" she asked.
"It is a raven, which ate of a poisoned horse and died."
She leaned forward. "And that which slew twelve?"
"That is a reference to the twelve murdered that ate the raven and died because of it."
She jumped up, and in her excitement left her precious robe behind.
The next morning she proclaimed that she had guessed the answer and she gave the response to the twelve judges. Afterwards, when she had exited, the young prince entered and proclaimed that she had gained the answer through malicious and illicit means, by sneaking into his room.
The judges said, "False accusations aren't befitting of someone of your station - bring us proof."
The prince's servant entered with the three cloaks (the maid's, lady-in-waiting's and the princess').
The judges spotted the distinctive grey cloak, which the princess always wore.
"So it is," the head judge said. "Let the grey cloak be embroidered with gold, for it will be your wedding mantle."
Thank you for reading!
The Riddle is a German fairy tale that has, as the title suggests, one of those puzzling word rhymes at its center, though the tale is much more than that. It is also replete with adversity, horror and cunning. Collected in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the story made its way into English literature by 1884, when it was translated into that language by Margaret Hunt.
The Riddle
There was once a prince who loved nothing more than to travel, and he was determined to visit all of the areas known to man, accompanied by his trusted servant. One day he came upon a dark, strange forest which carpeted the whole area. The duo ventured forward though, confident that they could draw upon their experience to find a way out, but soon they found they had become lost. Darkness descended upon them, but a young woman appeared and when they drew close to her, they saw that she was stationed in front of a small shack.
The prince walked towards her. "Greetings maiden. Could we spend the night in this abode?"
"You could," she said, "but I would not recommend it as a place for anyone, sir."
"Why is that?"
The girl sighed. "I'm of that opinion because my stepmom is involved in the darkest of magic and she is not well disposed to strangers."
The prince surmised that this was a witch's hut but he had already travelled so far and the sky was tinged with darkness. He stepped past the threshold of the home.
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| Illustration by H.J. Ford |
A rocking chair stood by the fireplace, with a fragile, elderly woman seated on it.
Her red eyes settled on the pair of men and she said, "Take a seat, my guests."
The men sat down next to her, and they noticed a pot was being heated by the fire; they didn't dare to accept any of the food though, because the maiden had warned them not to eat or drink anything in the home, and they went to bed with an empty stomach.
Early the next morning they were about to mount their horses, when the old woman ventured out and told them she would get them something to drink. While she went to fetch it, the prince sped off and she gave the cup to his servant.
"Give this to your master," she said.
The glass cracked, which caused the acidic content to spill out and splash over the man's horse. The unfortunate creature died on the spot and the servant set off running into the forest. The servant had ventured quite far into he undergrowth when he remembered that the saddle was still affixed to the horse, and he circled back. He reached the carcass of his former mount, and a raven was feasting on the dead animal, and he shot the bird, to use as a source of possible food.
The servant rendezvoused with his master and they rode through the forest for a number of days, but they never reached its end. At day's end they arrived at an inn. The servant gave the innkeeper the raven, to be prepared for dinner, but other twelve inhabitants in the inn took their supper first, and they all ate of the raven broth; as soon as it reached their lips they fell over. The poison that killed the horse had been absorbed into the body of the raven, whence it was distributed to the humans. The only survivor, the landlord's daughter, stepped forward and told the two men that the building was actually a den of thieves, and the twelve robbers were planning to kill the prince and servant after supper. In thanks for freeing her from the rule for the murderers, she showed them to the full treasure room, but the prince declined to take the mountains of gold, instead saying that the girl should use it to start a new life.
The next morning the men rode onward and came to a town, where a beautiful princess had declared that anyone who confounded her with a riddle would be her husband, but if she worked it out then the suitor would be killed. She always had a three day period to solve the riddle and had been so clever that she had gotten the answer of nine riddles, and as such nine men had met their end. Her beauty was so great that the prince risked his life and posed a riddle to her:
"One slew none, and yet slew twelve. What is this?"
She retired to her room to think on the meaning of this, consulted books of great wisdom, but she could never find the answer. That first night she sent her maid to the prince's sleeping quarters, in the hope that she may overhear him mumbling the answer in his sleep; instead, she found the princes' servant under the covers, and he chased her out, ripping off her cloak in the pursuit. The second night, the princess' lady-in-waiting was sent, with the same results.
The third night arrived, and the prince thought he was surely safe, and he went to sleep on the bed in his chamber. The princess came to his quarters herself, covered by an exquisite gray cloak, and she sat beside him on his bed.
"What is the one which slew none int he riddle?" she asked.
"It is a raven, which ate of a poisoned horse and died."
She leaned forward. "And that which slew twelve?"
"That is a reference to the twelve murdered that ate the raven and died because of it."
She jumped up, and in her excitement left her precious robe behind.
The next morning she proclaimed that she had guessed the answer and she gave the response to the twelve judges. Afterwards, when she had exited, the young prince entered and proclaimed that she had gained the answer through malicious and illicit means, by sneaking into his room.
The judges said, "False accusations aren't befitting of someone of your station - bring us proof."
The prince's servant entered with the three cloaks (the maid's, lady-in-waiting's and the princess').
The judges spotted the distinctive grey cloak, which the princess always wore.
"So it is," the head judge said. "Let the grey cloak be embroidered with gold, for it will be your wedding mantle."
Thank you for reading!
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