Page:Grimm's Fairy Tales.djvu/171

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KING GRIZZLE-BEARD
153

they had all been thine." "Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!" said she; "would that I had married King Grizzle-beard! "

Then they came to a great city. "Whose is this noble city?" said she. "It belongs to King Grizzle-beard; hadst thou taken him, it had all been thine." "Ah! wretch that I am!" sighed she; "why did I not marry King Grizzle-beard?" "That is no business of mine," said the fiddler: "why should you wish for another husband; am not I good enough for you?"

At last they came to a small cottage. "What a paltry place!" said she; "to whom does that little dirty hole belong?" Then the fiddler said, "That is your and my house, where we are to live." "Where are your servants?" cried she. "What do we want with servants?" said he; "you must do for yourself whatever is to be done. Now make the fire, and put on water and cook my supper, for I am very tired." But the princess knew nothing of making fires and cooking, and the fiddler was forced to help her. When they had eaten a very scanty meal they went to bed; but the fiddler called her up very early in the morning to clean the house. Thus they lived for two days: and when they had eaten up all there was in the cottage, the man said, "Wife, we can't go on thus, spending money and earning nothing. You must learn to weave baskets." Then he went out and cut willows, and brought them home, and she began to weave; but it made her fingers very sore. "I see this work won't do," said he: "try and spin; perhaps you will do that better." So she sat down and tried to spin; but the threads cut her tender fingers till the blood ran. "See now," said the fiddler, "you are good for nothing; you can do no work: what a bargain I have got! How-