Sister and Brother, pt I

(I like to retell fairy tales. Here's the first half of one the Grimms called Brother and Sister. It's kind of in bare bones form right now, but I think that's in keeping with the traditional format for fairy tales...)




Once upon a time there was a girl who had an older brother. The older brother had been touched by fairies in infancy, and could not be trusted not to wander. This is why, even though the girl was younger, it fell to her to mind her brother. Her brother was strong-willed, and not much inclined to be minded, but he loved his sweet little sister so much that there was very little she could not convince him to do, and so for the most part she kept him from harm.

Their mother had died when the girl was only five, but at last the day had come that their father was going to remarry. The girl was very excited- she had longed for a mother’s gentle touch, and someone to teach her the ways of women. She tried her best to be like a mother to her brother, but she feared she might be doing it wrong. A real mother could help her- and perhaps in time there would even be another child! Her brother was less excited about the change. He did not see why there should be more than the three of them in their little cottage- but in time she coaxed him around to her way of thinking, and the morning before their new mother arrived he went so far as to collect flowers for the woman.

When their father returned with his new wife, it was not on the old donkey he had left on, but rather on a lovely white horse. The girl was in awe- she had never seen such a magnificent creature in her life. Surely their new mother must be a fine lady, indeed, to have brought such a dowry with her!

The woman came forward to meet the children, and smiled warmly at the girl and complimented her on the neatness of her dress. But when her eyes fell upon the boy, the girl thought she saw a particular gleam come into them.

“Ah, young man! I have heard so much about you. Come, give your new mother a kiss- we are sure to be the best of friends!”

But the boy would not kiss his new mother. He let out a scream, threw the flowers in her face, and ran off into the woods.

“Brother!” cried the girl, and moved to chase him, afraid he might injure himself in flight.

“It’s alright, daughter,” the woman said sweetly, catching at the girl’s arm. “I must be new and frightening to him. Give him time- he will come around.”

But he did not come around. He avoided his new mother whenever possible, and positively would not meet her eyes. He reacted with violence any time she moved to touch him, much to their father’s rage. At first the girl tried reasoning with her brother, but when that failed she finally threw up her hands in exasperation and asked what was wrong with their new mother, anyway.

“She’s been very good to me,” she said. “She’s showed me how to do fine stitching, and a better way to make bread rise- and she’s teaching me women’s secrets, too!”

“She’s bad,” was all he would say as he rocked back and forth, arms around his knees and pushing himself with his toes. “Bad bad bad. She gets inside my head- she wants things… she’s bad bad bad.” And on he would rock.

The girl didn’t know what to believe- she had never seen her brother act this way. Normally he was so gentle- surely there must be something wrong with their new mother to cause him to react in such a way. But the woman was so kind to the girl and so concerned for her brother, always asking about his wellbeing. Surely those were not the actions of a bad person?

One night the girl decided to approach her father with her concerns, but as she got close to his bed she heard her new mother speaking to him in hushed tones.

“You must kill him- there’s no other choice. The fairies have made him evil, and he will do us all harm. You must kill him- there’s no other choice. The fairies have made him evil…” Suddenly the girl realized that her father was asleep, and the new mother was whispering these words into his ears, poisoning his dreams with them. Quietly the girl crept back to her bed. How long had this been going on? How much longer would it take for their father to give in to these nighttime whisperings? The girl didn’t want to wait to find out, so the next morning she gathered up some bread and a little skin of water, took her brother by the hand, and led him deep into the woods. Her brother, cheerful to do anything that involved being far from the new mother, didn’t ask any questions as she led him further and further from the parts of the woods they knew. Finally they stopped to eat a meal, and she told him,

“It’s no longer safe for us to be at home. We must go make our way in the wide world, and hope that providence will have pity on us.”

“We have to escape the bad woman,” he agreed, and reached for another sip from the water skin.

“No, brother. We must save it for later, when we are truly thirsty.”

And so they set off into the woods again, wandering until they were too exhausted to go any further. They made a little nest of the soft green grasses, curled up in one another’s arms, and went to sleep.

The next morning they set out again, and before long the brother was complaining of thirst. His sister handed him the water skin to drink from, but found it was empty.

“Oh no!” she said, “It must have leaked out in the night. We must find a spring to refill it at.” And so they went looking for a spring.

What they did not know, however, was that their new mother was actually an evil fairy- and she had married their father in order to gain access to the brother, all for mysterious reasons of her own. When she discovered that the children had escaped her, she sent out her evil magic to cause the water skin to leak, and then created an irresistible trap to capture them. And so the children did not think twice when they found an unnaturally beautiful spring, surrounded by flowers that were far out of season. The brother immediately rushed for it, for he was very thirsty, but his sister held him back.

“Wait,” she said. “I think I hear something. And so the brother waited, and finally the girl realized she was hearing a voice singing,

Woe be to he

That drinks from me

Vicous tiger

He then shall be

“It’s the water!” she gasped. “Brother, you must not drink from this spring, or you’ll turn into a tiger and devour me!” Her brother sulked, but turned away from the spring. Thirsty as he was, he would not endanger his beloved sister.

Before too much longer they came upon another unnaturally beautiful spring. Again the brother rushed for it, but again his sister held him back. “Listen,” she hissed, for this water, too, was singing to her.

Woe be to he

That drinks from me

Ravenous wolf

He then shall be

“I don’t hear anything,” complained the boy, and moved forward to drink.

“No, no brother you mustn’t,” cried the girl. “If you drink you’ll turn into a wolf and devour me!”

Again her brother managed to turn away, although by now his thirst was like claws raking at his throat. Still, he would not endanger his sweet sister for anything in the world, and so they walked on. This time many hours passed before they found another spring. This one was smaller than the other two, and somehow less unnaturally beautiful, but again the girl could hear it singing to her.

Woe be to he

That drinks from me

Hunted roe buck

He then shall be

“No, wait!” the sister called, but it was too late. Her brother had already dipped his face to the water and begun to drink, for he could wait no longer, and somehow he knew this water, at least, would not cause him to harm his sister.

As he swallowed the first mouthful, a brilliant flash dazzled the eyes of the sister, and when she was able to see again, a shivering white fawn stood where her brother had once been.

“Oh! Oh no!” The girl reached for the animal, but it sprang away and bounded off into the woods. Too weak to go on, the girl sank down by the edge of the spring and began to cry. What she did not see was that as her tears touched the water, they set off ripples far too large for their size. The ripples began to glow blue, and as they faded a head slowly emerged from the water. It was a water-fairy, hair streaming in swirls about her lovely face.

“Don’t despair, little one,” she said in a voice like gentle currents. “Your tears of true love have freed me from the evil fairy’s curse, and my water is safe to drink once more. Come, slake your thirst.”

The girl did so, and though she had never tasted water so sweet. Once she had drunk her fill, the water fairy said to her, “Now I shall give you three wishes, to repay you for my freedom. What would you like?”

“I want my brother back!” cried the girl.

“I cannot break the evil fairy’s spell,” said the water fairy sadly, “for she is much more powerful than I. But I can at least call him back to your side. Once he has come, slip this about his neck- it will help him remember who he is so he does not run off again.” And a fine golden chain washed up by the girl’s feet. Soon there was a rustling in the woods, and the white fawn emerged once more, looking vaguely guilty. The girl put the chain about his neck, and he followed her as docilely as he ever had.

“What is your second wish, little one?”

“I wish we had a safe place to live,” the girl said.

“Do you see that large tree on the other side of my banks?” asked the water fairy. The girl nodded. “If you circle around it you will find a little door between the roots. You may live there, if it pleases you.” The girl immediately ran to the tree and found the little door. When she opened it she was amazed to see that it led into what appeared to be the sweetest, coziest little cottage she’d ever seen. There was a little bed for her, and a cushion for the fawn, and the cupboards were full of good food to eat. She rushed back outside.

“Oh thank you!” she cried. “It’s perfect.”

“None may exit or enter save you yourself open the door,” warned the fairy, “so make certain your brother does not wander off without you.”

“Oh I will,” said the girl, and stroked her brother’s snowy flank.

“What is your final wish, little one?” The girl thought and thought, but as long as she had her brother and a safe place for them to live, she could not think what else she might desire.

“Is it alright if I give my wish to my brother?” She asked.

“It is,” said the water fairy, and turned to lock eyes with the little fawn. “But since you cannot speak, it must be a wish of the heart. I will know when it has been made.” So saying, she disappeared back into the ripples, and they never saw her again.

The brother and sister lived happily for many years in their little tree home, and each grew to maturity. The girl became a lovely young woman, graceful and sweet. Her brother grew into a beautiful stag, crowned with golden antlers that had three points each. Really it seemed as though he had always been meant for life as a deer- certainly he seemed much more at ease than he ever had as a boy. His greatest joy came from running free in the woods, and although his sister worried about him, she knew he was far faster and cleverer than any of the other animals.

The only time she would not let him out to run was in the autumn, when the hunters came to the woods.

“It is too dangerous,” she would tell him, time and again. “You are safe from the wolves in this wood because you have the mind of a man- but these hunters also have the minds of men. No, you must stay here with me, or my heart will break with worry.”

But the time came when he could no longer stand it- he must run with the hunt or else die of a broken heart, himself. His sister saw his great distress, and at last relented, though it grieved her to do so.

“After all,” she said to herself, “Were he still in human form he would be a man grown, and I’d have no right to keep him locked away, fairy-touched or not.”

All day long the girl waited in the house, worrying, but the stag gave the hunters a merry chase. It was no ordinary hunting group this day, but the royal Hunt, led by the king himself. The king was young and handsome, and full of hot blood and passion. When he spied the white stag with the golden collar he knew it was meant for him, and forbade any other hunter from shooting the creature. But no matter how he pursued, the stag seemed always to elude him, dodging with ease any arrows sent its way. At last darkness fell, and the king and his men were forced to return to the palace. The stag, too, returned home, and gave that particular knocking at the door he and his sister had devised to let her know it was him:

click click, clack clack, clock clock

And his sister immediately let him back into the little house. When she saw he had taken no harm from the day’s adventures she was greatly relieved, and the two of them curled up together to sleep. The next morning the hunter’s calls came again, and again the white stag gave his sister such a look of heartache that she had to open the door for him.

This day the king was better prepared to hunt a fantastic beast- he had brought with him a quiver of arrows given to him by his fairy godmother when he was much younger. She had told him then that anything they were aimed at they must necessarily hit, but he had never tested them, thinking them too fine to waste on childish games. Today, however, he knew at last finally knew what they were meant for, and when at last he found himself alone and staring across a glade at the stag, he let fly an arrow.

What his fairy godmother had not told him, however, was that while the arrow must hit anything he aimed it at, it would never kill another piece of fairy craft, which the white stag surely was. And so, even though the king had meant to pierce the beast’s heart, he instead struck him just above the hoof. The creature was away again, but not as swiftly as before, and the king found he could follow him by the trail of shining blood he left.

The white stag, out of his mind with pain and fear, soon ran home to his sister.

click click, clack clack, clock clock

The king arrived just in time to witness this strange ritual- and just in time to catch the briefest glimpse of the most beautiful face he’d ever seen as a young woman flung open the door and cried, “Oh my brother! What have they done to you!” before gathering the stag into her arms and pulling him inside.

The king made his way back to his hunters, feeling a great weight of guilt in his stomach- and more, feeling a new heaviness in his heart. It grieved him beyond telling that he had hurt the brother of such a beautiful maiden, had given her cause for distress. But even more, it grieved him to think of never seeing her again. He returned once more to his palace, and gave the matter much thought.

In the meantime, the girl cleaned and dressed her brother’s wound, and gave him a thorough scolding. In the morning he felt much better, however, and she could tell he wanted to go out once again.

“No,” she said, “I’ll not have it. You’re going to get yourself killed by those horrible men, and I shall be left all alone.” And she refused to open the door all that day, or the next. Her brother, however, began to refuse to eat, and finally on the third day she opened it once more.

“Better that you die free doing what you love than locked up and miserable,” she said, and cried bitter tears after he had gone.

At first the king was worried that once again the white stag would not come- but when the animal at last showed himself, the king turned to his men and gave them very specific instructions.

“Chase him,” he told them. “Chase him and never stop until the sun sets, but do not a single one of you harm him in any way, or let any harm come to him. I have a mission that I must attend to alone, but if I am successful we shall bring the white stag home before the moon rises.”

After his hunters had left, the king made his way back to the little door in the tree he had seen. He used two knuckles as though they were a hoof, and he knocked against the door:

click click, clack clack, clock clock

He heard the maiden saying, “Back so soon, my brother?” and his heart squeezed because he could tell she had been crying. Then the door opened, and he found himself breathless once more at her beauty (red-eyed though it was).

“Oh my!” she said, for she had not seen a man since her father all those years ago- and her father had never seemed so young or handsome.

“Please, gentle lady,” the king said, dropping to his knees. “If I had known the white stag was your brother, I never would have hunted him. I would never knowingly harm you or yours!” The maiden did not know, of course, that this was her king, but nonetheless she felt such a man should not kneel before her- or anyone.

“Please sir, come in. I will accept your apologies if you will accept a cup of tea, and keep me company while I await my brother’s return.”

The king did so, and they passed a pleasant afternoon together, until at last the sun began to slip below the horizon. As the last of its rays played through the leaves of their tree, the king asked the maiden if she would like to come with him, and be his wife.

“Only if my brother may come, too,” said she.

“Of course!” replied the king. “He shall live with us and have everything his heart could ever desire.”

And so when the white stag returned the three of them left the little home together, and went back to the palace. At first the girl could not believe she was to be a queen, but in time she came to accept it, and truly she became a fair and gracious queen, whose love for her people was eclipsed only by her love for her husband, and of course her brother. For many years they lived quite happily, until once again the wicked fairy got up to her mischief.