12 The Clever Tailor (Germany)

Once upon a time there lived an exceedingly proud princess. If any suitor for her hand ventured to present himself, she would give him some riddle or conundrum to guess. When he failed, he was hunted out of town with scorn and derision. She made a proclamation that all comers were welcome to try their skill and that whosoever could solve her riddle should be her husband. Now it happened three tailors had met together. The two elder thought that, having successfully put in so many fine and strong stitches with never a wrong one amongst them, they were certain to do the right thing here too. The third tailor was a lazy young scamp. He did not even know his own trade properly but thought surely luck would stand by him now.

The three tailors arrived at court, where they had themselves duly presented to the princess, and begged she would propound her riddles. Then said the princess, “I have on my head two different kinds of hair. Of what colors are they?”

“If that’s all,”said the first tailor, “they are most likely black and white.”“Wrong,”said the princess.

“Then,”said the second tailor, “if they are not black and white, no doubt they are red and brown.”“Wrong again,”said the princess.

Then the young tailor stepped boldly forward, and said,“The princess has one silver and one golden hair on her head.”When the princess heard this she turned pale and almost fainted with fear. The little tailor had hit the mark. When she had recovered herself she said, “Don’t fancy you have won me yet,there is something else you must do first. Below in the stable is a bear with whom you must spend the night. If I find you still alive in the morning you shall marry me.”

She expected to rid herself of the tailor in this way. The tailor, however, had no notion of being scared, but said cheerily, “Bravely dared is half won.”

When evening came on he was taken to the stable. The bear tried to get at him at once and to give him a warm welcome with his great paws. “Gently, gently,”said the tailor,“I’ll soon teach you to be quiet.”He coolly took out a fiddle and began playing on it. When the bear heard the music he could not help dancing.

After he had danced for some time he was so pleased he said to the tailor, “I say, is fiddling difficult?”“Mere child’s play,”replied the tailor. “Look here! You press the strings with the fingers of the left hand, and with the right you draw the bow across them, so—then it goes as easily as possible,up and down, tra la la la la—”

“Oh,”cried the bear, “I do wish I could play like that.Would you give me some lessons?”“With all my heart,”said the tailor, “if you are sharp about it. But just let me look at your paws. Dear me, your nails are terribly long. I must really cut them first.”Then he fetched a pair of stocks^[1], the bear laid his paws on them, and the tailor screwed them up tight. “Now just wait while I fetch my scissors,”said he. But he left the bear growling away, while he lay down in a corner and fell fast asleep.

When the princess heard the bear growling so loud that night, she felt sure he was roaring with delight as he worried^[2] the tailor. Next morning she rose, feeling quite cheerful and free from care, but when she looked toward the stables, there stood the tailor before the door, as fresh and lively as a fish in the water. After this it was impossible to break the promise she had made so publicly, and the king ordered out the state coach to take her and the tailor to be married.

—Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm

[1]　stocks：樹幹，木頭。

[2]　worried：撕咬。