Grimms' Fairy Tales

Back Forward Menu

opportunity to escape.'

The words were hardly out of her mouth when the godless crew returned,
dragging another young girl along with them. They were all drunk, and
paid no heed to her cries and lamentations. They gave her wine to drink,
three glasses full, one of white wine, one of red, and one of yellow,
and with that her heart gave way and she died. Then they tore of her
dainty clothing, laid her on a table, and cut her beautiful body into
pieces, and sprinkled salt upon it.

The poor betrothed girl crouched trembling and shuddering behind the
cask, for she saw what a terrible fate had been intended for her by
the robbers. One of them now noticed a gold ring still remaining on
the little finger of the murdered girl, and as he could not draw it off
easily, he took a hatchet and cut off the finger; but the finger sprang
into the air, and fell behind the cask into the lap of the girl who was
hiding there. The robber took a light and began looking for it, but he