The Robber Bridegroom (Grimm)
Short summary
A miller promised his beautiful daughter to a wealthy suitor who lived in the dark forest. The Maiden felt instinctive horror toward her betrothed but couldn't explain why.
When The Robber Bridegroom invited her to visit, she marked her path with peas and lentils. At his house, a caged bird warned her it was a murderer's den.
An old woman hid The Maiden behind a barrel. The robbers brought another girl, killed her, and chopped her up. When one robber cut off the victim's finger for its ring, it flew into The Maiden's lap. After the robbers fell asleep from drugged wine, The Maiden escaped. At the wedding feast, she told everything as a dream:
My darling, I only dreamt this. And there is the finger with the ring! And with these words she drew it forth, and showed it to those present.
The Robber Bridegroom turned pale, tried to escape, but was caught and executed with his gang.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The millers daughter and her unwelcome suitor
A miller lived with his beautiful daughter, and as she reached marriageable age, he wished to see her well provided for. He decided that if any good suitor came asking for her hand, he would give her to him. Soon after, a suitor appeared who seemed very wealthy, and the miller, finding no fault with him, promised his daughter in marriage.
However, the maiden felt differently about her betrothed.
The maiden, however, did not like him quite so much as a girl should like the man to whom she is engaged, and had no confidence in him. Whenever she saw, or thought of him, she felt a secret horror.
The journey to the dark forest house
One day the bridegroom complained that she had never visited him, though they were betrothed. When she replied that she did not know where his house was, he told her it lay in the dark forest. She tried to excuse herself, saying she could not find the way, but he insisted she come the following Sunday, promising to strew ashes to mark the path.
When Sunday came, the maiden felt very uneasy without knowing exactly why. To mark her way, she filled both pockets with peas and lentils. Following the strewn ashes at the forest entrance, she threw peas at every step. She walked almost the whole day until she reached the darkest part of the forest, where stood a solitary, dark and dismal house.
Inside the empty house, she heard a voice warning her:
Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
'Tis a murderer's house you enter here.
The warning came from a caged bird on the wall. Despite this ominous sign, the maiden continued through the empty rooms until she reached the cellar, where she found an extremely aged woman whose head shook constantly.
Witnessing murder and narrow escape
The old woman revealed the terrible truth about the bridegroom and his companions.
Alas, poor child, whither hast thou come? Thou art in a murderer's den. Thou thinkest thou art a bride soon to be married, but thou wilt keep thy wedding with death.
She explained that the robbers would cut the maiden to pieces, cook her, and eat her, for they were cannibals. The compassionate old woman hid her behind a great hogshead and warned her to remain silent.
Soon the robbers returned home, dragging another young girl with them. They were drunk and ignored her screams and pleas.
They gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one glass of white wine, one glass of red, and a glass of yellow, and with this her heart burst in twain.
The robbers then tore off her clothes, cut her body into pieces on a table, and sprinkled salt on the remains.
One robber noticed a gold ring on the murdered girl's finger. When it would not come off easily, he took an axe and cut off the finger, which sprang into the air and fell directly into the hidden maiden's bosom. The old woman cleverly distracted the robbers from searching for it, then drugged their wine so they fell asleep. The maiden and old woman escaped through the sleeping robbers and fled the murderers' den. The wind had blown away the ashes, but the sprouted peas and lentils showed them the way in the moonlight back to the mill.
The wedding revelation and justice
When the wedding day arrived, the bridegroom appeared with all the invited guests. During the feast, each person was asked to tell a story. The bride had remained silent, but when pressed by her bridegroom, she began to relate what she claimed was a dream. She recounted every detail of her terrifying experience in the forest house, repeatedly emphasizing that it was only a dream. When she reached the climax of her tale, she produced the severed finger with its gold ring as proof.
Upon seeing the evidence, the robber bridegroom's true nature was revealed.
The robber, who had during this story become as pale as ashes, leapt up and wanted to escape, but the guests held him fast, and delivered him over to justice.
He and his entire gang were subsequently executed for their heinous crimes.