3. Mary's Child (Marienkind)
Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, who had an only child, a little girl three years old. They were so poor, however, that they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to get food for her. One morning the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully to his work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head, who said to him, “I am the Virgin Mary, mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, bring thy child to me, I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for her.” The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, and gave her to the Virgin Mary, who took her up to heaven with her. There the child fared well, ate sugar-cakes, and drank sweet milk, and her clothes were of gold, and the little angels played with her. And when she was fourteen years of age, the Virgin Mary called her one day and said, “Dear child, I am about to make a long journey, so take into thy keeping the keys of the thirteen doors of heaven. Twelve of these thou mayest open, and behold the glory which is within them, but the thirteenth, to which this little key belongs, is forbidden thee. Beware of opening it, or thou wilt bring misery on thyself.” The girl promised to be obedient, and when the Virgin Mary was gone, she began to examine the dwellings of the kingdom of heaven. Each day she opened one of them, until she had made the round of the twelve. In each of them sat one of the Apostles in the midst of a great light, and she rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendour, and the little angels who always accompanied her rejoiced with her. Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she felt a great desire to know what could be hidden behind it, and said to the angels, “I will not quite open it, and I will not go inside it, but I will unlock it so that we can just see a little through the opening.” “Oh no,” said the little angels, “that would be a sin. The Virgin Mary has forbidden it, and it might easily cause thy unhappiness.” Then she was silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, but gnawed there and tormented her, and let her have no rest. And once when the angels had all gone out, she thought, “Now I am quite alone, and I could peep in. If I do it, no one will ever know.” She sought out the key, and when she had got it in her hand, she put it in the lock, and when she had put it in, she turned it round as well. Then the door sprang open, and she saw there the Trinity sitting in fire and splendour. She stayed there awhile, and looked at everything in amazement; then she touched the light a little with her finger, and her finger became quite golden. Immediately a great fear fell on her. She shut the door violently, and ran away. Her terror too would not quit her, let her do what she might, and her heart beat continually and would not be still; the gold too stayed on her finger, and would not go away, let her rub it and wash it never so much.
It was not long before the Virgin Mary came back from her journey. She called the girl before her, and asked to have the keys of heaven back. When the maiden gave her the bunch, the Virgin looked into her eyes and said, “Hast thou not opened the thirteenth door also?” “No,” she replied. Then she laid her hand on the girl’s heart, and felt how it beat and beat, and saw right well that she had disobeyed her order and had opened the door. Then she said once again, “Art thou certain that thou hast not done it?” “Yes,” said the girl, for the second time. Then she perceived the finger which had become golden from touching the fire of heaven, and saw well that the child had sinned, and said for the third time “Hast thou not done it?” “No,” said the girl for the third time. Then said the Virgin Mary, “Thou hast not obeyed me, and besides that thou hast lied, thou art no longer worthy to be in heaven.”
Then the girl fell into a deep sleep, and when she awoke she lay on the earth below, and in the midst of a wilderness. She wanted to cry out, but she could bring forth no sound. She sprang up and wanted to run away, but whithersoever she turned herself, she was continually held back by thick hedges of thorns through which she could not break. In the desert, in which she was imprisoned, there stood an old hollow tree, and this had to be her dwelling-place. Into this she crept when night came, and here she slept. Here, too, she found a shelter from storm and rain, but it was a miserable life, and bitterly did she weep when she remembered how happy she had been in heaven, and how the angels had played with her. Roots and wild berries were her only food, and for these she sought as far as she could go. In the autumn she picked up the fallen nuts and leaves, and carried them into the hole. The nuts were her food in winter, and when snow and ice came, she crept amongst the leaves like a poor little animal that she might not freeze. Before long her clothes were all torn, and one bit of them after another fell off her. As soon, however, as the sun shone warm again, she went out and sat in front of the tree, and her long hair covered her on all sides like a mantle. Thus she sat year after year, and felt the pain and the misery of the world. One day, when the trees were once more clothed in fresh green, the King of the country was hunting in the forest, and followed a roe, and as it had fled into the thicket which shut in this part of the forest, he got off his horse, tore the bushes asunder, and cut himself a path with his sword. When he had at last forced his way through, he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under the tree; and she sat there and was entirely covered with her golden hair down to her very feet. He stood still and looked at her full of surprise, then he spoke to her and said, “Who art thou? Why art thou sitting here in the wilderness?” But she gave no answer, for she could not open her mouth. The King continued, “Wilt thou go with me to my castle?” Then she just nodded her head a little. The King took her in his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her, and when he reached the royal castle he caused her to be dressed in beautiful garments, and gave her all things in abundance. Although she could not speak, she was still so beautiful and charming that he began to love her with all his heart, and it was not long before he married her.
After a year or so had passed, the Queen brought a son into the world. Thereupon the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the night when she lay in her bed alone, and said, “If thou wilt tell the truth and confess that thou didst unlock the forbidden door, I will open thy mouth and give thee back thy speech, but if thou perseverest in thy sin, and deniest obstinately, I will take thy new-born child away with me.” Then the queen was permitted to answer, but she remained hard, and said, “No, I did not open the forbidden door;” and the Virgin Mary took the new-born child from her arms, and vanished with it. Next morning when the child was not to be found, it was whispered among the people that the Queen was a man-eater, and had killed her own child. She heard all this and could say nothing to the contrary, but the King would not believe it, for he loved her so much.
When a year had gone by the Queen again bore a son, and in the night the Virgin Mary again came to her, and said, “If thou wilt confess that thou openedst the forbidden door, I will give thee thy child back and untie thy tongue; but if you continuest in sin and deniest it, I will take away with me this new child also.” Then the Queen again said, “No, I did not open the forbidden door;” and the Virgin took the child out of her arms, and away with her to heaven. Next morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people declared quite loudly that the Queen had devoured it, and the King’s councillors demanded that she should be brought to justice. The King, however, loved her so dearly that he would not believe it, and commanded the councillors under pain of death not to say any more about it.
The following year the Queen gave birth to a beautiful little daughter, and for the third time the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the night and said, “Follow me.” She took the Queen by the hand and led her to heaven, and showed her there her two eldest children, who smiled at her, and were playing with the ball of the world. When the Queen rejoiced thereat, the Virgin Mary said, “Is thy heart not yet softened? If thou wilt own that thou openedst the forbidden door, I will give thee back thy two little sons.” But for the third time the Queen answered, “No, I did not open the forbidden door.” Then the Virgin let her sink down to earth once more, and took from her likewise her third child.
Next morning, when the loss was reported abroad, all the people cried loudly, “The Queen is a man-eater. She must be judged,” and the King was no longer able to restrain his councillors. Thereupon a trial was held, and as she could not answer, and defend herself, she was condemned to be burnt alive. The wood was got together, and when she was fast bound to the stake, and the fire began to burn round about her, the hard ice of pride melted, her heart was moved by repentance, and she thought, “If I could but confess before my death that I opened the door.” Then her voice came back to her, and she cried out loudly, “Yes, Mary, I did it;” and straight-way rain fell from the sky and extinguished the flames of fire, and a light broke forth above her, and the Virgin Mary descended with the two little sons by her side, and the new-born daughter in her arms. She spoke kindly to her, and said, “He who repents his sin and acknowledges it, is forgiven.” Then she gave her the three children, untied her tongue, and granted her happiness for her whole life.
My Notes
- This is the translation of Margaret Hunt.
- This is tale type 710.
- The earliest English translations of this story change the Heavenly characters into fairies in order to avoid offense.
- This story was present in all seven editions of Grimms' collection, and was always placed as the third tale. Various minor edits were made in later editions.
In front of a large forest lived a woodcutter with his wife and their only child, a girl who was three years old. But they were so poor that they no longer had their daily bread and did not know what to do for food Then the woodcutter went out into the forest full of worries to do his work, and as he was chopping wood there suddenly stood before him a beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head who said to him, "I am Mary, the mother of Jesus, bring me your child , I will take her with me, to be her mother and take care of her.” The woodcutter obeyed and fetched his child and gave her to Mary, who took her up to Heaven with her. Then she was healthy, she only ate carrots and drank sweet milk, and her clothes were of gold, and the angels played with her.
When the child had been in Heaven for fourteen years, Mary had to make a great journey. But before she went away, she called the girl and said: "Dear child, I will entrust you with the keys to the thirteen doors of the kingdom of Heaven. You may unlock the first twelve doors and look inside them, but not the thirteenth door, which this little key opens.” The girl promised to obey her commands, and now that Mary was gone she opened a door each day, and saw the mansions of the kingdom of Heaven. In each of them sat an apostle, and there was so much splendor around that she had never seen in her lifetime. When she had unlocked the twelve doors, the forbidden one was still left; and after resisting her curiosity for a long time she was overwhelmed and opened the thirteenth door. And when the door opened, she saw the Trinity sitting in fire and splendor; and touched the brilliance with the tip of her finger, and it turned completely golden. She quickly slammed the door and ran away; her heart was pounding and wouldn't stop.
After a few days, Mary returned from her journey and asked the girl for the keys to heaven, and when they were handed to her, she looked at the child and said: "Didn't you open the thirteenth door too?"
"No," answered the child.
Then Mary put her hand on the child's heart, which was beating rapidly, and she saw that she had disobeyed her command and unlocked the door. "Are you sure you didn't do it?"
"No," said the girl again.
Then Mary saw the golden finger, and the girl fell into a deep, deep sleep, and when she woke up she was on the ground and lying under a tall tree which was surrounded by thick bushes, so that she was completely enclosed. Her mouth was also shut and it could not speak a single word. There was a hollow in the tree, in which she sat through rain and thunderstorms and slept at night, with roots and forest berries for food, which she sought as far as she could get. In autumn she gathered roots and leaves and carried them into the hollow, and when it snowed and froze she sat in it. His clothes also spoiled and fell off of her, and there she sat in the leaves, completely wrapped up, and when the sun was warm again she went out and sat in front of the tree, and her long hair covered her from all sides like a cloak.
One day, in spring, when she was sitting in front of the tree, someone forced his way through the bushes. It was the king, who had been hunting in the forest and got lost. He was amazed that such a beautiful girl was sitting alone in the desert, and asked her if she wanted to go to his castle with him. But she could not answer, but only nodded her head a little, so the king put her on his horse and took her home with him, and soon he became so fond of her that he made her his wife.
After a year the queen gave birth to a handsome prince. During the night Mary appeared to her and said, "Tell the truth now that you opened the forbidden door, and I will allow you to speak again, so that you can live happily. But if you are obstinate and don't want to admit it, I'll take your child with me."
The queen, however, insisted that she had not opened the forbidden door. Then Mary took the little child and disappeared with it. The next morning, when the child was gone, there was a murmur that the mute queen was a cannibal and had eaten her own child.
After a year the queen gave birth to a prince again, and Mary came before her again and asked her to tell the truth, otherwise she would also lose the second child. The queen, however, insisted that she had not opened the forbidden door, and Mary took the child away with her. In the morning, when the child was missing, the king's councilors said aloud that the queen was a cannibal, and advised that she be judged for her ungodly deeds. But the king was silent and would not believe it, because he loved the queen so much.
In the third year she gave birth to a princess, and Mary appeared again, took her to Heaven, and showed her the two eldest children playing with the globe. Then she asked again that she might confess her mistake and no longer persist in lying. But the Queen was unmoved and stood by her testimony. Then Mary left her, taking the youngest child with her.
The king could no longer hold back his councilors, they maintained that the queen was a cannibal, that much was certain, and because she was mute she could not defend herself, so she was condemned to die at the stake. As she stood there, tied up, and the fire already beginning to burn all around, her heart was moved and she thought to herself, "Oh, even if I must die, I so much would like to confess to Mary that I opened the forbidden door in heaven. How foolish I have been to deny it!”
And just as she was thinking of it, at that moment, Heaven opened and Mary came down at her side the two eldest children, the youngest in her arms; but the fire extinguished itself, and she went to the queen and said, "He who confesses his sins and repents, they are forgiven him." Then gave her the children, opened her mouth, and gave her happiness for her whole life.
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