The Girl Without Hands (Grimm)
Short summary
A poor miller met a stranger in the forest who promised him wealth in exchange for what stood behind his mill. Thinking it was his apple tree, the miller agreed, but the stranger was the devil who meant his daughter.
After three years, the devil came to claim her, but she protected herself with chalk circles and cleanliness. Furious that he couldn't touch her, the devil commanded:
Cut her hands off, or else I cannot get the better of her... If thou dost not do it thou art mine, and I will take thee thyself.
The terrified miller cut off his daughter's hands, but her tears kept the stumps clean, and the devil lost his claim. She left home and found a royal garden where an angel helped her eat pears. The king discovered her, fell in love, married her, and gave her silver hands. When he went to war, she bore a son, but the devil intercepted messages, causing her exile. In the forest, she lived in an angel's house for seven years, and her hands grew back. The king searched for seven years until he found them, and they reunited joyfully.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The devils bargain and the millers terrible mistake
A poor miller had fallen into poverty and possessed nothing but his mill and a large apple tree behind it. While gathering wood in the forest, he encountered an old man who offered to make him rich in exchange for what stood behind his mill. Thinking only of the apple tree, the miller agreed and gave a written promise. The stranger laughed mockingly and said he would return in three years to claim what belonged to him.
When the miller returned home, he found his house filled with sudden wealth. His wife was terrified when she learned of his bargain, revealing that the stranger must have been the devil, who meant not the apple tree but their daughter, who had been sweeping behind the mill.
The girls purity, sacrifice, and loss of hands
The miller's daughter lived piously for three years without sin. When the devil came to claim her, she washed herself clean and drew a chalk circle around herself. Unable to approach her due to her purity, the devil angrily demanded the miller remove all water so she could not wash. The next morning, she had wept on her hands, keeping them clean, and again the devil could not touch her.
Furiously, the devil ordered the miller to cut off his daughter's hands or forfeit his own soul. Terrified, the father begged his daughter's forgiveness and explained his desperate situation.
Dear father, do with me what you will, I am your child... she had wept so long and so much on the stumps, that after all they were quite clean.
When the devil came for the third time, her tears had kept even the stumps clean, and he lost all power over her. Though her father offered to care for her with his newfound wealth, she chose to leave.
Journey from home and miraculous entry into the royal garden
Here I cannot stay, I will go forth, compassionate people will give me as much as I require... by sunrise she set out on her way.
She had her maimed arms bound to her back and walked all day until she reached a royal garden surrounded by water. Tormented by hunger, she prayed to God for help.
Then she knelt down, called on God the Lord, and prayed. And suddenly an angel came towards her, who made a dam in the water, so that the moat became dry.
She entered the garden and ate one pear with her mouth from a tree. The gardener witnessed this but remained silent, believing her to be a spirit accompanied by an angel.
Discovery by the king and their marriage
The next morning, the king discovered a missing pear and questioned the gardener, who told him about the handless spirit. That night, the king watched with the gardener and a priest. When the maiden appeared again, the priest questioned her.
I am no spirit, but an unhappy mortal deserted by all but God... If thou art forsaken by all the world, yet will I not forsake thee.
Moved by her beauty and goodness, the king took her to his palace, had silver hands made for her, and married her.
The devils deception with false letters during the kings absence
After a year, the king went to war, leaving his queen in his mother's care. When the queen gave birth to a fine boy, the old mother sent a joyful letter to the king. However, the devil intercepted the messenger and replaced the letter with one claiming the queen had given birth to a monster.
Then came the Devil, who was always seeking to injure the good Queen, and exchanged the letter... they were to put the Queen and her child to death.
The devil continued exchanging letters, ultimately forging orders to execute the queen and child. The king's mother, horrified by these commands, killed a deer instead and preserved its tongue and eyes as false proof of obedience.
Exile from the palace and divine protection in the forest
The compassionate mother-in-law warned the queen to flee with her child and never return. The poor woman tied her baby to her back and wandered into a great forest. There, an angel led her to a small house marked 'Here all dwell free,' where a white maiden welcomed her. The queen lived there for seven years, cared for by the angel, and through God's grace, her hands grew back.
The kings seven-year search, reunion, and restoration of hands
When the king returned from war, his mother revealed the truth about the devil's deception. Overcome with grief, the king vowed to search for his wife and child.
I will go as far as the sky is blue, and will neither eat nor drink until I have found again my dear wife and my child... God supported him.
After seven years of searching, he found the little house in the forest. The angel brought the queen and her son, now called Sorrowful, to where the king lay sleeping. When the child questioned covering his father's face, not knowing who he was, the king awakened. The queen showed him her restored natural hands, and the angel brought the silver hands as proof.
The good God has caused my natural hands to grow again... A heavy stone has fallen from off mine heart.
Recognizing his dear wife and child, the king kissed them joyfully. The angel shared one final meal with them before they returned to the king's mother. There were great celebrations everywhere, and the king and queen remarried, living contentedly until their happy end.