The Two Brothers (Grimm)
Short summary
A poor broom-maker's twin sons ate the heart and liver of a golden bird, causing gold to appear under their pillows daily. Their uncle, an evil goldsmith, convinced their father they were cursed, so he abandoned them in the forest. A huntsman found and raised them as skilled hunters. When grown, the brothers separated at a crossroads, sticking a knife in a tree that would rust if either died. The younger brother arrived at a town where a princess awaited sacrifice to a dragon.
He killed the dragon, married the princess, and became ruler. Later, a witch turned him to stone in an enchanted forest. His elder brother saw the rusted knife and came to rescue him.
The elder brother forced the witch to restore everyone. Upon learning his brother had slept in the royal bed, jealousy overwhelmed him and he beheaded his twin.
My brother delivered me, and I have killed him for it... Then his hare came and offered to go and bring some of the root of life, and bounded away and brought it while yet there was time.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The golden bird and the poor brothers fortune
Two brothers lived very different lives - one was a wealthy goldsmith with an evil heart, while the other was a poor but honest man who made brooms for a living.
The poor brother had twin sons who were so alike they resembled two drops of water. The boys often visited their rich uncle's house and received scraps of food. One day, while gathering brushwood in the forest, the poor man encountered a magnificent golden bird, more beautiful than any he had ever seen. He threw a stone at it and managed to hit it, causing a single golden feather to fall before the bird flew away. When he brought the feather to his brother, the goldsmith recognized its pure gold and paid him handsomely for it.
The next day, the poor man climbed a birch tree to cut branches when the same golden bird flew out. Searching the area, he discovered a nest containing a golden egg, which he also sold to his brother for a great sum. Finally, on the third day, the goldsmith expressed his desire to have the entire bird, so the poor man captured it and brought it to him for a heap of gold.
The twins gain magical powers and are cast out
The cunning goldsmith knew the bird's true nature and ordered his wife to roast it, intending to eat it all himself.
The bird, however, was no common one, but of so wondrous a kind that whosoever ate its heart and liver found every morning a piece of gold beneath his pillow.
While the bird roasted and the woman stepped away from the kitchen, the twin boys ran in and turned the spit. Two small pieces fell into the dripping pan, and the hungry children ate them - unknowingly consuming the bird's heart and liver. When the woman returned and discovered what happened, she quickly killed a young cock and replaced the missing organs to avoid her husband's anger. The goldsmith ate the prepared bird, but when he checked under his pillow the next morning, no gold appeared.
The twin boys, unaware of their good fortune, found two gold pieces under their pillows each morning. When their father told the goldsmith about this strange occurrence, the evil brother immediately understood what had happened. Consumed by envy and spite, he told the poor man that his children were in league with the Evil One.
Thy children are in league with the Evil One, do not take the gold, and do not suffer them to stay any longer in thy house, for he has them in his power, and may ruin thee likewise.
Terrified by these words, the father reluctantly led his twin sons into the forest and abandoned them there, despite the pain it caused him.
The huntsman adopts and trains the brothers
Lost in the forest, the children wandered until they met a huntsman who asked about their circumstances. When they explained their situation, the kind man decided to adopt them, saying that finding gold under their pillows was not so terrible if they remained honest and industrious.
The huntsman raised the boys and taught them his craft, carefully saving their daily gold pieces for their future needs. When they reached adulthood, he tested their skills with trial shots. Both brothers successfully shot down geese flying in formation, proving their mastery of hunting. Satisfied with their progress, the huntsman declared their apprenticeship complete and granted them the status of skilled huntsmen.
The brothers requested permission to travel and prove themselves in the world. Their foster-father joyfully agreed, giving each a gun, a dog, and as many gold pieces as they wished. Before parting, he presented them with a bright knife and important advice.
If ever you separate, stick this knife into a tree at the place where you part, and when one of you goes back, he will be able to see how his absent brother is faring.
The dragon fight and saving the princess
The brothers traveled together until they reached a vast forest that took days to cross. During their journey, they encountered various animals - a hare, fox, wolf, bear, and lion - each pleading for their lives and offering two young ones in return. The compassionate brothers spared them all, gathering a procession of ten animals that followed and served them. Eventually, they decided to part ways, dividing the animals equally and sticking the magical knife into a tree before one went east and the other west.
The younger brother arrived in a town draped in black mourning cloth. At an inn, he learned the terrible reason for the town's sorrow.
There is a high hill without the town, whereon dwells a dragon who every year must have a pure virgin, or he lays the whole country waste, and now all the maidens have already been given to him.
Only the king's daughter remained, and she was to be sacrificed the next day. The huntsman learned that many knights had tried to kill the dragon but all had perished. The king had promised his daughter's hand and the kingdom to whoever could defeat the monster.
The next morning, the huntsman climbed the dragon's hill where he found a small church. Inside were three cups with an inscription promising that whoever emptied them would become the strongest man on earth and able to wield a buried sword. After drinking from the cups, he gained the strength to lift the mighty weapon. When the king's daughter arrived for her sacrifice, accompanied by the grieving king and courtiers, she saw the huntsman waiting and initially mistook him for the dragon.
The huntsman comforted the princess and locked her safely in the church. Soon the seven-headed dragon arrived with thunderous roaring, breathing fire from all its mouths. The huntsman's animals helped by trampling out the flames, while he wielded his sword with supernatural strength. After a fierce battle, he cut off all seven heads and called his animals to tear the monster apart. When the struggle ended, he freed the princess and showed her the defeated dragon.
Now thou wilt be my dearest husband, for my father has promised me to him who kills the dragon... Her pocket-handkerchief, however, on which was her name, she gave to the huntsman.
The princess divided her coral necklace among the animals as a reward, giving the golden clasp to the lion. The huntsman cut out the dragon's seven tongues and wrapped them in the princess's handkerchief as proof of his victory. Exhausted from the battle, both the huntsman and princess fell asleep, with the animals taking turns to keep watch.
The marshals deception and the huntsmans resurrection
However, all the animals eventually fell asleep from weariness. The king's marshal, who had been watching from a distance, saw his opportunity.
And as he was wicked and godless he took his sword, cut off the huntsman's head, and seized the maiden in his arms, and carried her down the hill.
The marshal threatened to kill the princess unless she claimed he had slain the dragon. Terrified, she agreed but insisted the wedding be delayed for a year and a day, hoping to hear news of her true savior. The marshal presented his false claim to the king, who joyfully agreed to the marriage.
Meanwhile, a humble bee repeatedly stung the sleeping hare until it awoke. The animals discovered their master's death and the missing princess. The hare knew of a magical root that could restore life and promised to fetch it from a mountain two hundred hours away. Racing against time, the hare returned within twenty-four hours with the life-giving root.
I know a mountain on which a root grows which, when placed in the mouth of anyone, cures him of all illness and every wound. But the mountain lies two hundred hours journey from here.
The lion hastily reattached the huntsman's head, but in his urgency, he put it on backwards. The hare placed the root in the huntsman's mouth, restoring him to life. When the huntsman noticed his head was turned around, the lion corrected the mistake, and the hare healed him again with the magical root.
The revelation of truth and royal wedding
Heartbroken and believing the princess had abandoned him, the huntsman wandered the world for a year, making his animals perform for people. He returned to the same town just as the marshal's wedding was about to take place, now decorated with red cloth for celebration instead of black mourning. At the inn, he made a wager with the host that he would eat bread from the king's table that very day.
The huntsman sent his animals one by one to the palace. Each animal was recognized by the princess through their collars and brought back the requested food - the hare fetched bread, the fox brought roast meat, the wolf carried vegetables, the bear retrieved confectionery, and the lion obtained the finest wine. The innkeeper was amazed as the huntsman won each wager. Finally, the huntsman requested royal clothing and a carriage to attend the wedding, which the king provided after consulting with his daughter.
At the wedding feast, when the marshal displayed the dragon's seven heads as proof of his deed, the huntsman challenged him by asking where the seven tongues were. The marshal claimed dragons had no tongues, but the huntsman revealed the tongues wrapped in the princess's handkerchief, fitting each perfectly into its corresponding mouth. He also showed the handkerchief with the princess's name and the pieces of her necklace, proving his identity as the true dragon-slayer.
He who is followed by this lion is my true husband... Then the young King laughed and said, Yes, he is the right one, and they sat down together to table, and ate and drank, and were merry.
The king ordered twelve councillors to judge the marshal, who was sentenced to be torn apart by four bulls. The huntsman married the princess and was named viceroy of the kingdom. The wedding was celebrated with great joy, and the new king brought his father and foster-father to the palace, showering them with treasures. He even rewarded the innkeeper, allowing him to keep his property and giving him a thousand gold pieces.
The enchanted forest and the witchs curse
The young king and queen lived happily, and he often went hunting with his faithful animals. Near the kingdom lay an enchanted forest from which few who entered ever returned. Despite warnings, the young king insisted on hunting there and rode in with a great following, pursuing a snow-white hart. The hart led him deep into the forest, where he became separated from his attendants and lost.
As night fell, the king made camp by a fire. He heard an old woman in a tree complaining of the cold. When he invited her down to warm herself, she claimed his animals would bite her and threw down a wand, instructing him to strike them with it. The moment he did so, all the animals turned to stone.
The witch then touched the king with her wand, turning him to stone as well. Laughing wickedly, she dragged him and his animals to a vault filled with many other stone victims of her magic.
The rescue and final reunion of the brothers
Meanwhile, the elder brother had been traveling westward. When he checked the magical knife, he found his brother's side half-rusted, indicating great danger. He hurried to the kingdom, where guards mistook him for the missing king. Playing along with this deception, he was welcomed by the queen, though he placed a sword between them in bed to maintain his brother's honor.
After learning about the enchanted forest, the elder brother ventured there and encountered the same witch. However, when she tried to trick him with the wand, he refused to strike his animals and instead shot her with silver bullets from his coat, which proved effective against her magic. Under threat, the witch restored all her victims to life, including his brother and the animals. When she was burned, the enchanted forest became bright and clear.
The brothers reunited joyfully, but when the younger learned that his brother had shared the queen's bed, jealousy overcame him and he struck off his brother's head. Immediately regretting his action, he was saved when his hare fetched the life-giving root and restored his brother to life. The brothers returned to the palace together, where the queen identified her true husband by the golden clasp on his lion. They lived happily ever after, and the younger king finally understood why his wife had mentioned the sword in their bed.