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Tale Summary

There was once a beautiful princess who was betrothed to a prince far away. Her mother, the Queen, sent her off with many precious things, and a waiting-maid for company. The princess’s horse was named Falada, and he could talk. Before they left, the Queen gave her daughter a lock of her own hair as a good luck charm, and she tucked it in her bosom and set off. One day, the princess was very thirsty and asked her maid to fetch her some water in her golden cup. The maid refused and said if she was thirsty, she should go lie down by the water and drink. The princess did this because she was so frightened and meek. While she drank, she cried, and the piece of hair told her that her mother would be sad to see it. This happens again later in the day, with the maid refusing to serve the princess, the princess drinking by the stream, and the lock of hair talking. But this time, the lock of hair fell out of her bosom and drifted away, which made the maid very happy, because now the princess was under her power. She forces her to trade clothes and horses with her so that when they reach their destination, the waiting-maid is taken for the princess and married to the prince. The king notices how pretty and delicate the real princess is, and puts her to work helping the lad (named Curdken) who takes care of his geese when the maid asks him to make sure she is not idle. The maid also asks that the head of Falada, the princess’s horse, be cut off because she is afraid it will tell someone the truth. When she learns that he is dead, the princess begs that his head is nailed up to a gate so that she may see it every morning and evening. The next morning she talks to the head, and it answers that her mother would be sad to see the state she’s in. While she and Curdken tend to the geese, the princess takes a break by the bank of the meadow to brush her hair, which is so beautiful and of pure silver that Curdken tries to take it, but she sings a song that makes a wind blow which carries his hat away so that he must chase it, and finishes brushing before he can return. This happened for several days, until the boy goes to the king to ask that she not work with him anymore, and tells him all about her. The king hides himself the next day in order to observe her. At the end of the day, he took her aside to ask why she did those things, and she cried, saying that she must not tell anyone. But he begs her so much that she tells him everything about what happened. He orders a great feast, and a beautiful dress for the little goose-girl, who is seated on one side of the prince, and on the other, his wife the waiting-maid. While they were eating, the old king told the story and asked the maid what sort of punishment someone like that should receive. She said that they should be put in a cask with sharp nails in it, and pulled by horses around the town until they died. The king announced that she had judged her own fate, and married the princess to his son instead.

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