Little Brother and Little Sister (Grimm)
Short summary
A fairy tale forest kingdom. Little Sister and her brother fled their cruel stepmother who beat them daily.
The witch stepmother enchanted forest brooks. Despite his sister's warnings, Little Brother drank from the third brook and transformed into a roebuck.
They lived in a forest cottage until the King discovered them during a hunt. He married Little Sister, who became Queen. The jealous stepmother and her ugly daughter murdered the Queen in a hot bath after she gave birth.
The Queen's ghost visited nightly to nurse her baby. On the third night, the King recognized her.
You can be none other than my dear wife... Yes, I am your dear wife... and by God's grace became fresh, rosy, and full of health.
The witch burned, the daughter was torn by beasts, and Little Brother became human again.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Escape from the stepmother and the brothers transformation
Two children, a little brother and sister, lived in misery with their cruel stepmother after their mother's death. The stepmother beat them daily and kicked them away whenever they approached her. Their only food consisted of hard bread crusts, while even the dog under the table received better treatment. Unable to bear their suffering any longer, the little brother took his sister's hand and declared they would leave together.
Since our mother died we have had no happiness; our stepmother beats us every day... Come, we will go forth together into the wide world.
The children walked all day through meadows and fields. When rain began to fall, the sister observed that heaven and their hearts were weeping together. By evening, exhausted from sorrow, hunger, and their long journey, they found shelter in a hollow tree and fell asleep. The next morning, the brother awoke desperately thirsty and heard the sound of running water nearby. Unknown to them, their wicked stepmother was actually a witch who had followed them secretly and bewitched all the brooks in the forest.
When they found the first brook, the sister heard it warning that whoever drank from it would become a tiger. She begged her brother not to drink, and he reluctantly agreed to wait. At the second brook, the water warned it would turn the drinker into a wolf, and again the sister pleaded successfully. But at the third brook, despite the sister's desperate pleas about becoming a roebuck, the brother's thirst overcame his caution.
But the brother had knelt down at once by the brook... and as soon as the first drops touched his lips he lay there a young roebuck.
Forest life and the royal hunt
The sister wept over her transformed brother, and the little roebuck wept beside her. Eventually, she comforted him with a promise that she would never abandon him. She tied her golden garter around his neck and wove rushes into a soft cord to lead him deeper into the forest. After traveling far, they discovered an empty cottage where they decided to make their home. The sister gathered roots, berries, and nuts for herself while bringing tender grass for the roebuck, who ate from her hand contentedly.
Be quiet, dear little roe, I will never, never leave you.
They lived peacefully in the wilderness until the King of the country organized a great hunt in the forest. The sounds of horns, barking dogs, and huntsmen's shouts filled the air, awakening the roebuck's hunting instincts.
Despite his sister's concerns, the roebuck begged to join the hunt. She agreed but instructed him to return each evening and say a special password: 'My little sister, let me in!' The roebuck proved too quick and nimble for the hunters, easily escaping their pursuit. This continued for several days until the huntsmen finally wounded him slightly in the foot, slowing his escape. One hunter followed him to the cottage, overheard the password, and reported everything to the King.
Marriage to the king
The next day, the King ordered his men to chase the roebuck without harming him. When evening came, he followed the huntsman to the cottage and knocked on the door, using the password he had learned. When the door opened, instead of the roebuck, the King found himself face to face with a maiden more beautiful than any he had ever seen. Though frightened at first to see a crowned man instead of her brother, the maiden listened as the King kindly asked her to become his wife. She agreed on one condition: the roebuck must accompany them and live at the palace. The King readily consented, and they departed together for his castle.
The stepmothers murderous revenge
The King and the maiden were married with great ceremony, and she became Queen. They lived happily together for a long time, with the roebuck cherished and tended in the palace garden. Meanwhile, the wicked stepmother, who had assumed the children were dead, learned of their good fortune. Consumed with envy and hatred, she plotted their destruction with her own daughter, an ugly girl with only one eye who bitterly complained that she should have been the one to become Queen.
When the Queen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy while the King was away hunting, the witch saw her opportunity. Disguising herself as a chambermaid, she convinced the weakened Queen to take a bath for her health. Along with her daughter, the witch carried the Queen to a bathroom where they had prepared a fire of deadly heat, suffocating the young mother. The old woman then placed her own daughter in the Queen's bed, giving her the Queen's appearance, though she could not restore the missing eye. To hide this defect, the false queen was instructed to lie on her side.
The dead queens return and final justice
When the King returned and wanted to see his wife, the witch warned him to keep the curtains closed, claiming the Queen needed rest and could not see light. Deceived, the King left without discovering the substitution. However, at midnight, the palace nurse witnessed something extraordinary: the true Queen appeared in the nursery, took her child from the cradle, nursed him, and tenderly cared for him before stroking the roebuck and silently departing.
This mysterious visitation continued for many nights. Eventually, the Queen began to speak, asking about the welfare of her child and roebuck, and announcing how many times she would return. When the nurse finally told the King what she had witnessed, he decided to keep watch himself. On the final night, as the Queen declared this would be her last visit, the King could no longer restrain himself and called out to her.
How fares my child, how fares my roe?
Twice shall I come, then never more.
When the King proclaimed that she could be none other than his dear wife, the Queen confirmed his words and was instantly restored to life by God's grace, becoming fresh, rosy, and healthy once more. She revealed the evil deeds committed by the witch and her daughter. The King immediately ordered both criminals to face justice. The stepmothers daughter was taken to the forest where wild beasts tore her apart, while the witch was cast into fire and burned to death. The moment the witch perished, the roebuck's enchantment was broken, and he regained his human form. The brother and sister lived happily together for the rest of their lives.