The Pink (Grimm)
Short summary
A magical kingdom, fairy tale times. A Queen received a son with wishing power. The Old Cook kidnapped the baby and framed the Queen with chicken blood.
The King imprisoned the Queen in a tower for seven years.
The cook raised the boy, who wished for a palace and a maiden. When ordered to kill the prince, the maiden refused. The Kings Son transformed the cook into a poodle and the maiden into a pink flower. He returned home disguised as a huntsman. At a feast, he revealed the truth:
She is alive still, and I am her son, and I was not carried away by wild beasts, but by that wretch the old cook, who tore me from her arms when she was asleep.
The Queen was freed but died three days later. The cook was torn apart. The prince married the maiden.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The Queens prayer and the magical childs birth
A childless Queen prayed daily in her garden for God to grant her a child. An angel appeared and delivered divine news about her future son.
Be at rest, thou shalt have a son with the power of wishing, so that whatsoever in the world he wishes for, that shall he have.
The Queen shared this joyful news with the King, and when the time came, she gave birth to a son with miraculous wishing powers. Every morning, she took the child to the garden where wild beasts were kept and washed herself in a clear stream.
The cooks deception and the Queens imprisonment
When the child was older, the Queen fell asleep while holding him. The old cook, knowing of the child's magical power, stole the baby and executed a cruel deception.
He killed a hen, sprinkled its blood on the Queen's apron and dress, then carried the child to a secret location where a nurse was forced to care for him. The cook accused the Queen of allowing wild beasts to take her child. Seeing the blood, the King believed this lie and fell into a terrible rage.
He ordered a high tower built where neither sun nor moon could be seen, imprisoned his wife there for seven years without food or drink to die of hunger. However, God sent two angels disguised as white doves who brought her food twice daily until the seven years ended.
Fearing the child's wishing power might bring him trouble, the cook left the palace and went to the boy, who was now old enough to speak. He instructed the child to wish for a beautiful palace with a garden, which instantly appeared. Later, the cook told him to wish for a pretty companion.
A beautiful maiden immediately appeared, more lovely than any painter could create. The two children played together and loved each other dearly while the cook lived like a nobleman. However, the cook grew worried that the prince might wish to see his father, bringing danger.
He secretly ordered the maiden to kill the sleeping boy with a knife, threatening her life if she refused. When she protested the murder of an innocent child, the cook repeated his threat. The maiden killed a hind instead, presenting its heart and tongue to the cook while the prince hid under covers. When the cook arrived, the prince revealed himself and pronounced a terrible sentence, transforming the cook into a black poodle with a gold collar who had to eat burning coals until flames burst from his throat.
The sons return and final revelations
The prince decided to return home to find his mother. When the maiden hesitated to accompany him to a strange land, he transformed her into a beautiful pink flower and took her with him. The poodle was forced to follow. At the tower where his mother was imprisoned, he climbed a wished-for ladder and called to her. She replied that she had just eaten and was satisfied, thinking the angels had come.
The prince then went to his father, disguising himself as a strange huntsman seeking employment. The King agreed, though deer had never been found in the region. Using his wishing power, the prince summoned two hundred deer for the royal huntsmen to shoot, providing abundant game for the King's table after years of scarcity. Impressed, the King invited the huntsman to feast with his entire household and insisted he sit beside him. During the meal, the prince wished that someone would ask about the Queen's fate. The marshal immediately inquired about the Queen in the tower. When the King refused to speak of her, claiming she let wild beasts kill his son, the huntsman revealed his true identity and exposed the cook's deception, forcing the transformed dog to eat coals before everyone until flames burst from its throat.
The Queens death and the sons marriage
The prince showed his father the maiden in her flower form, then wished her back to human shape. The King sent attendants to bring the Queen from the tower, but she refused to eat, saying God would deliver her. She died peacefully three days later, followed to her grave by the two white doves. The aged King ordered the cook torn apart, but grief consumed his heart and he soon died. The prince married the beautiful maiden he had carried as a flower.
The gracious and merciful God who has supported me in the tower, will speedily deliver me. She lived three days more, and then died happily.