The Goose Maid

　　Once upon a time there was a Queen whose daughter was to marry a Prince. The Queen packed up many wedding treasures. She gave the Princess a maid and each them had a horse for the journey. The Princess's horse was called Falada and it could talk.

　　“My dear child，” said the Queen. “Take this little piece of fabric. I let three drops of blood from my finger fall on it. Take good care of it， and it will become very useful on your journey.”

　　The Princess took the piece of fabric and put it in her pocket. Then she and her maid set off on their journey. When she became thirsty the Princess said to her maid， “Get down and fetch me some water from the stream.” But the maid replied， “Get down yourself！ I don't want to be your servant any more.”

　　As the Princess lay down by the water to drink， she heard the three drops of blood say， “If your mother knew this， her heart would break！”

　　The Princess said nothing. She mounted her horse again and they continued their journey. Soon she became thirsty gain. But the maid， even more arrogant than before， said， “If you want to drink， get down yourself. I'm not your servant any more！”

　　Again， the Princess got down. But as she was leaning over the stream the little piece of fabric with the drops of blood fell into the water and floated away. When the maid saw this she was very pleased. She now had complete power over the Princess. She made her swap clothes and horses with her， and forced her to swear not to tell anybody at the Court. But the horse Falada had seen and heard everything.

　　Arriving at the castle， the Prince joyfully received what he believed to be his bride. She pointed to the real Princess and said at once， “Give my maid some work to do！”

　　“She could help the boy Conrad look after the geese，” said the Prince.

　　But the false bride was afraid Falada might reveal her secret. Therefore， she said the Prince， “Have this horse's head cut off. It annoyed me on the way.”

　　The real Princess heard about this. She was very upset and asked the stable lad if he would nail Falada's head up in the archway. She passed through the archway every day with the geese and she was able to see her beloved Falada.

　　“The next morning when she had Conrad drove the geese through the archway， she said， ”Oh， my dear Falada， how said to see you like that.“ And the horse answered， ”Oh， my dear Princess， how sad to see you like that. If your mother knew her heart would break！“

　　The Princess went to the meadow and combed her hair.

　　Conrad teased her and pulled her hair. She asked the wind to blow Conrad's hat away， so he had to run after it and she could comb her hair in peace.

　　The next day she talked to Falada again. And again she played the trick with Conrad's hat. Angrily， he went to the King and said， “I don't want to tend the geese with that girl any more！ She annoys me.” And he told the King his story. But the King ordered him to tend the geese with the girl again the next day.

　　The King secretly followed them and overheard the Goose Maid talking to Falada. He asked her about it and the Princess told him the whole story. The King gave a big party where the false Princess sat on one side and the real Princess sat on the other side of the Prince. The false Princess was quite confused and didn't recognize the Princess in her beautiful clothes.

　　When they had eaten， the King said to her， “I shall ask you a riddle. What does a person deserve who has deceived her mistress？”

　　“Such a person deserves to be put to death，” replied the maid.

　　And with that the King pronounced this to be her punishment. The Prince then married the real Princess and they lived happily ever after.

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