The Juniper Tree and Other Tales Read Online Free Page A

the boy in the dark. “I expect I can find my own way out of here,” he said, groping around until he found the way back to his room, where he lay down by the fire and went to sleep.
    Next morning, along came the King. “Well,” he said, “I expect you’ve learnt what fear is by now.”
    “I’m afraid not,” said the boy. “What can it be like? My dead cousin paid me a visit, and a man with a beard came and showed me a great deal of money down in the cellar, but no one’s told me how to shudder with fear.”
    “You have broken the spell on the castle,” said the King, “and you can have my daughter as your wife.”
    “That’s all very well,” replied the boy, “but I still don’t know what fear is.”
    Then the gold was brought up from the cellar and the young couple were married, but dearly as the new Prince loved his wife and happy as he was with her, he still kept saying, “Oh, if only I could shudder with fear! If only I knew what fear is.”
    After a while this made the Princess very sad. Then her lady’s maid said, “I can help you, and then he’ll soon learn to shudder and know what fear is.”
    She went out to the stream that flowed through the palace gardens, and filled a bucket with water and little fish. That night, when the young Prince was asleep, his wife pulled back the covers and tipped the bucket full of fish and cold water over him. The little fish flapped about in the bed, and he woke up and cried, “Oh, how I’m shuddering, dear wife, how my flesh creeps! At long, long last I know what fear is.”

THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS
    O NCE UPON A TIME there was an old nanny-goat who had seven little kids, and she loved them as dearly as any mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go out into the forest and search for food, so she gathered all seven around her and said, “Dear children, I’m going into the forest, and mind you keep your eyes open for the wolf, because if he gets in he’ll eat you up, hair and skin and all. That wicked wolf often disguises himself, but you can always tell him at once by his gruff voice and his black paws.”
    “We’ll be very careful, dear Mother,” said the little kids. “You just go out, and don’t worry.”
    Then the old nanny-goat bleated, and went out with her mind at rest.
    It wasn’t long before someone knocked on the front door of the house and cried, “Open the door, dear children, here’s your mother back with something nice for each of you.” But the little kids heard that gruff voice, and knew it was the wolf.
    “We’re not opening the door,” they said. “You’re not our mother. She has a soft, kind voice, but your voice is gruff. You’re the wolf.”
    So the wolf went away to a shop, bought a big piece of chalk and ate it to soften his voice. Then he came back, knocked on the door of the house again and cried, “Open the door, dear children, here’s your mother back with something nice for each of you.” However, the wolf had put his black paws up on the window sill, and when the kids saw them they cried, “We’re not opening the door. Our mother doesn’t have black paws like you. You’re the wolf.”
    So then the wolf went off to a baker and said, “I’ve hurt my paws, please put some dough over them.” And when the baker had covered his paws with dough, he went off to the miller and said, “Sprinkle some white flour on my paws.” The miller thought: The wolf is planning to trick someone. So he refused, but the wolf said, “If you don’t do as I say I’ll eat you.” On hearing those words the miller sprinkled white flour over the wolf ’s paws because he was afraid. That’s human nature for you.
    Then the wicked wolf went back to the door of the house for the third time, knocked at it and cried, “Open the door, dear children, here’s your mother back with something nice for each of you.”
    “Show us your paws,” called the little kids. “Then we’ll know whether you’re our