Here we go again. Another nonsensical story with characters that act in perplexing ways. I’m beginning to think that the brothers Grimm were morons. Or maybe I’m the idiot. You be the judge.
There was once a king and queen who had twelve sons. Although they loved their boys dearly, they desperately wanted a daughter. Personally, I think I would have given up after three, but if you’re twelve boys in, I guess you might as well plow on. If this story took place in China it would already be over… but I digress. The reason they preferred a girl wasn’t just for sentimental reasons, but they wanted to entrust their throne and legacy to a daughter, rather than a son, which looking at the history of monarchy makes perfect sense. However, the rules are the rules, and the first child in line must inherit the kingdom. The queen is pregnant, so naturally, the king therefore decides to kill all of his sons if a daughter is born. The queen doesn’t want her sons to die and secretly divulges the king’s plan to one of the boys so that he and the others may leave temporarily and return unharmed if the next child is a boy. The sons escape to a nearby forest and await the news. Unfortunately for them, the queen bore a little girl, so they retreat further into the woods and make their home in an abandoned cottage. They swear that, from this day forward, they will kill any and every girl that comes within sight (they clearly take after their father). Ten years pass.
Meanwhile, the daughter grows up in the castle without any knowledge of her brothers. However, one day she finds twelve dirty shirts and asks to whom they belong. The queen explains everything (except why there’s ten-year old laundry laying around) and the daughter decides to venture into the forest to find and bring back her brothers. She takes the dirty shirts with her. Why? We will never know, as it isn’t mentioned again. Eventually, she locates the cottage and is met by the youngest brother, Benjamin. The other eleven are out hunting, and we never find out any of their names. In fact, we don’t find out the girl’s name either, who presumably is the protagonist, so let’s just call her Linda to make things easy. Anyway, Benjamin quickly realizes who the girl is and is overcome with joy. Perhaps his thirst for blood has waned over the years. Nevertheless, he tells Linda to hide so that he can persuade the other brothers not to kill her when they return. Once the other brothers are back, Benjamin tells them what has happened and it turns out that they don’t need much persuasion, as they are happy to be united. Linda decides to stay in the forest and live with her brothers.
One day, Linda picks twelve white lilies outside the cottage. This turns her brothers into ravens. Also, the cottage vanishes and a witch appears in its place. The witch instructs Linda that she must never say a single word or laugh for seven years, for if she does her brothers will die. This seems like a cruel punishment for picking some flowers. Maybe they were endangered. Regardless, with the life of her brothers in her hands, Linda agrees to the terms and decides that the best way to accomplish this challenge is to climb up a tree. How this will help anyone with anything is beyond me. If this makes sense to you, please get in touch. No, not with me, but with a psychiatrist. Anyway, where was I? Later, a king from another land is hunting in the forest, and comes across Linda in the tree. He finds her so beautiful that he immediately asks for her hand in marriage. She isn’t much older than ten at this stage, so this is very creepy to say the least, but it beats living in a tree, so she nods in agreement, without speaking. The years pass, and Linda utters nothing at any point. This raises the suspicion of the king’s mother. Being shy and quiet is one thing, but not laughing surely must be the sign of a witch. She therefore convinces the king to burn Linda at the stake. At this point, the seven years of silence are nearing their end, and as Linda is about to be burned, her brothers (still in raven form) fly by, transform back into humans and rescue her. Linda can now speak. Shocked by this revelation, the king realizes his mistake and instead decides to kill his mother for almost costing him his wife. The end.
What a mess. I don’t know if the brothers Grimm circulated their manuscript to anyone else before publishing it, but this story could clearly benefit from some editing. It may as well have begun at the point of Linda and the brothers living in the forest, and the message would be the same, although what that message is I can’t say for sure. Maybe the story is about severe punishment; for being born the wrong sex, for picking the wrong flowers. The final sentence reads: “The wicked mother in law was taken before the judge, and put into a barrel filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes, and died an evil death.” This punishment seems a tad severe for something that basically amounts to slander. The venomous snakes were also a bit much, I think. They would most likely have died in the boiling oil themselves, no? Maybe it’s a better safe than sorry kind of thing. The story leaves some open questions. What happened to the original king and queen? Will one of the sons inherit the kingdom since the daughter is now married to another king? What happened to the witch who for no reason decided to turn the brothers into ravens? Did the dirty shirts ever get washed? We may never know. Nevertheless, I think the moral of this story is quite clear: never trust your mother in law, and if mute, learn how to write.
Sorobetea 