The Drummer

One evening, a young drummer went out alone into the countryside. He came to a lake, and on the shore he saw three pieces of white linen. "What fine linen!" he said, and put one piece in his pocket. He went home, thought no more about it, and went to bed.

Just as he was falling asleep, he thought he heard someone call his name. He listened, and a soft voice whispered, "Drummer, drummer, wake up!" It was a dark night and he could see no one, but it seemed like a shape was floating near his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Give me back my dress," said the voice, "the one you took from me by the lake last night." "You shall have it back," said the drummer, "if you tell me who you are." "Ah," replied the voice, "I am the daughter of a mighty king, but I have fallen into the power of a witch and am trapped on the glass mountain.

Every day I must bathe in the lake with my two sisters, but without my dress I cannot fly back. My sisters have gone, but I was left behind. Please give me back my dress." "Don't worry, poor child," said the drummer.

"I will gladly return it." He took it from his pocket and handed it to her in the dark. She snatched it quickly and wanted to leave. "Wait," he said, "maybe I can help you." "You can only help me by climbing the glass mountain and freeing me from the witch.

But you cannot reach the glass mountain, and even if you did, you could not climb it." "When I want to do something, I can do it," said the drummer. "I feel sorry for you, and I am not afraid of anything.

But I don't know the way to the glass mountain." "The road goes through the great forest where the man-eaters live," she answered. "That is all I dare tell you." Then he heard her wings flutter as she flew away.

At daybreak, the drummer got up, buckled on his drum, and walked fearlessly into the forest. After walking for a while without seeing any giants, he thought, "I must wake up the lazy ones." So he hung his drum in front of him and beat such a loud roll that the birds flew out of the trees with loud cries.

Soon a giant who had been sleeping in the grass rose up, as tall as a fir tree. "Wretch!" he shouted. "Why are you drumming here, waking me from my best sleep?" "I am drumming," replied the drummer, "to show the way to many thousands who are following me." "What do they want in my forest?" demanded the giant.

"They want to put an end to you and rid the forest of such a monster!" "Oho!" said the giant. "I will trample you all to death like ants." "Do you think you can do anything against us?" said the drummer.

"If you stoop to grab one, he will jump away and hide. But when you lie down to sleep, they will come from every bush and creep up to you. Each one has a steel hammer in his belt, and they will beat in your skull." The giant grew angry and thought, "If I mess with these crafty folk, it might go badly for me.

I can strangle wolves and bears, but I cannot protect myself from these earthworms." "Listen, little fellow," said the giant. "Go back, and I promise to leave you and your comrades in peace from now on.

If you want anything else, tell me, for I am willing to do something to please you." "You have long legs," said the drummer, "and can run faster than I. Carry me to the glass mountain, and I will signal my followers to turn back.

They will leave you in peace this time." "Come here, worm," said the giant. "Sit on my shoulder, and I will carry you where you wish." The giant lifted him up, and the drummer began to beat his drum merrily up high.

The giant thought, "That is the signal for the others to turn back."

After a while, a second giant stood in the road, took the drummer from the first, and stuck him in his buttonhole. The drummer grabbed the button, which was as big as a plate, held on tight, and looked around cheerfully.

Then they came to a third giant, who took him out of the buttonhole and set him on the brim of his hat. The drummer walked back and forth up there, looking over the trees.

When he saw a mountain in the blue distance, he thought, "That must be the glass mountain." And so it was. The giant took only two more steps and reached the foot of the mountain, where he put the drummer down.

The drummer asked to be placed on the summit, but the giant shook his head, grumbled something in his beard, and went back into the forest.

Now the poor drummer stood before the mountain, which was as high as if three mountains were piled on top of each other and as smooth as a mirror. He did not know how to climb it. He tried to climb, but it was useless; he always slipped back. "If only I were a bird," he thought, but wishing did not make wings grow.

While he stood there wondering what to do, he saw two men nearby fighting fiercely. He went up to them and saw they were arguing over a saddle lying on the ground. "What fools you are," he said, "to quarrel over a saddle when you have no horse!" "This saddle is worth fighting for," answered one of the men.

"Whoever sits on it and wishes to be anywhere, even the end of the earth, will be there the instant he makes the wish. The saddle belongs to both of us, but it is my turn to ride, and this man won't let me." "I will settle the quarrel," said the drummer.

He went a short distance and stuck a white stick in the ground. Then he came back and said, "Now run to that stick, and whoever gets there first shall ride first." Both men started trotting, but they had barely taken a few steps when the drummer leaped onto the saddle, wished himself on the glass mountain, and before anyone could turn around, he was there.

On top of the mountain was a plain. An old stone house stood there, with a large fish pond in front and a dark forest behind. He saw no people or animals; everything was quiet. Only the wind rustled the trees, and clouds drifted close above his head.

He went to the door and knocked. After the third knock, an old woman with a brown face and red eyes opened the door. She wore spectacles on her long nose and looked sharply at him. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Shelter, food, and a bed for the night," replied the drummer. "You shall have them," said the old woman, "if you will do three tasks for me." "Why not?" he answered. "I am not afraid of any work, no matter how hard." The old woman let him in, gave him some food, and a good bed.

The next morning, after he had slept, she took a thimble from her wrinkled finger, handed it to him, and said, "Now go to work. Empty the pond with this thimble. You must finish by evening, and you must take out all the fish and lay them side by side according to their kind and size." "That is strange work," said the drummer, but he went to the pond and began to bail.

He bailed all morning, but what can anyone do to a large lake with a thimble, even if he bailed for a thousand years?

At noon, he thought, "It's useless. Whether I work or not, it's the same." So he gave up and sat down. Then a maiden came out of the house and set a little basket of food before him. "Why do you sit so sadly?" she asked.

He looked at her and saw that she was wonderfully beautiful. "Ah," he said, "I cannot finish the first task. How will I do the others? I came to find a king's daughter who is said to live here, but I have not found her, and I will go on." "Stay here," said the maiden.

"I will help you out of your trouble. You are tired; lay your head in my lap and sleep. When you wake, the work will be done." The drummer did not need to be told twice. As soon as his eyes closed, she turned a wishing ring and said, "Rise, water.

Fishes, come out." Instantly the water rose like a white mist and moved away with the other clouds, and the fish jumped onto the shore and laid themselves side by side, each according to kind and size. When the drummer woke, he saw with amazement that all was done.

But the maiden said, "One fish is not lying with its own kind, but alone. When the old woman comes tonight and sees that all she demanded is done, she will ask you, 'Why is this fish lying alone?' Then throw the fish in her face and say, 'This one is for you, old witch.'" In the evening, the witch came.

When she asked the question, he threw the fish in her face. She acted as if she did not notice and said nothing, but looked at him with evil eyes.

The next morning she said, "Yesterday was too easy for you. I must give you harder work. Today you must cut down the whole forest, split the wood into logs, and pile them up. Everything must be finished by evening." She gave him an axe, a mallet, and two wedges.

But the axe was made of lead, and the mallet and wedges were of tin. When he began to cut, the blade folded over, and the mallet and wedges bent out of shape. He did not know what to do, but at noon the maiden came again with his dinner and comforted him.

"Lay your head on my lap," she said, "and sleep. When you wake, the work will be done." She turned her wishing ring, and in an instant, the whole forest fell with a crash, the wood split and stacked itself in heaps, as if unseen giants were finishing the work.

When he woke, the maiden said, "Do you see that the wood is piled up and arranged? One branch alone remains. When the old woman comes this evening and asks about that branch, hit her with it and say, 'That is for you, witch.'" The old woman came.

"There, you see how easy the work was!" she said. "But for whom did you leave that branch lying there?" "For you, witch," he replied, and hit her with it. But she pretended not to feel it, laughed scornfully, and said, "Early tomorrow morning, you shall arrange all the wood in one pile, set fire to it, and burn it." He rose at daybreak and began gathering the wood, but how can a single person gather a whole forest?

The work made no progress. But the maiden did not desert him. She brought him his food at noon, and after he ate, he laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. When he woke, the entire woodpile was burning in one enormous flame that stretched its tongues into the sky.

"Listen to me," said the maiden. "When the witch comes, she will give you orders. Do whatever she asks without fear, and then she will not get the better of you. But if you are afraid, the fire will take hold of you and burn you up.

At last, when you have done everything, seize her with both hands and throw her into the middle of the fire." The maiden left, and the old woman came sneaking up. "Oh, I am cold," she said, "but that fire burns! It warms my old bones and does me good!

But there is a log there that will not burn. Bring it out for me. When you have done that, you are free and may go where you like. Come, go in with a good will."

The drummer did not think long. He jumped into the middle of the flames, but they did not hurt him and did not even singe a hair on his head. He carried out the log and laid it down.

Hardly had the wood touched the ground when it transformed, and the beautiful maiden who had helped him stood before him. By the silken, shining golden garments she wore, he knew she was the king's daughter. But the old woman laughed venomously.

"You think you have her safe, but you do not have her yet!" Just as she was about to grab the maiden, the youth seized the old woman with both hands, lifted her high, and threw her into the fire.

The flames closed over her as if delighted that an old witch was to be burned.

Then the king's daughter looked at the drummer and saw that he was a handsome young man. Remembering how he had risked his life to save her, she gave him her hand. "You have risked everything for me," she said. "I will do everything for you.

Promise to be true to me, and you shall be my husband. We will not lack riches; we have enough from what the witch gathered here." She led him into the house, where chests and coffers were crammed with treasures.

The maiden left the gold and silver where it was and took only the precious stones. She did not want to stay any longer on the glass mountain, so the drummer said, "Sit with me on my saddle, and we will fly down like birds." "I do not like that old saddle," she said.

"I only need to turn my wishing ring, and we will be home." "Very well," answered the drummer, "then wish us in front of the town gate." In the blink of an eye, they were there. But the drummer said, "I will go to my parents and tell them the news.

Wait for me outside here; I will be back soon." "Ah," said the king's daughter, "please be careful. When you arrive, do not kiss your parents on the right cheek, or you will forget everything, and I will be left here alone and deserted." "How could I forget you?" he said, and promised to return soon, giving his hand on it.

When he entered his father's house, he had changed so much that no one knew him, for the three days he had spent on the glass mountain had been three years. Then he made himself known, and his parents fell on his neck with joy.

His heart was so moved that he forgot what the maiden had said and kissed them on both cheeks. But as soon as he gave the kiss on the right cheek, every thought of the king's daughter vanished. He emptied his pockets, laying handfuls of the largest jewels on the table.

The parents had no idea what to do with such riches. The father built a magnificent castle with gardens, woods, and meadows, as if a prince were to live in it. When it was ready, the mother said, "I have found a maiden for you.

The wedding shall be in three days." The son was content to do as his parents wished.

The poor king's daughter waited for a long time outside the town for the young man's return. When evening came, she said, "He must have kissed his parents on the right cheek and forgotten me." Her heart was full of sorrow.

She wished herself into a solitary little hut in a forest and would not return to her father's court. Every evening she went into town and passed the young man's house. He often saw her, but he no longer knew her.

At last she heard people say, "The wedding will take place tomorrow." Then she said, "I will try to win his heart back."

On the first day of the wedding festivities, she turned her wishing ring and said, "A dress as bright as the sun." Instantly, the dress lay before her, as bright as if woven from real sunbeams. When all the guests had gathered, she entered the hall.

Everyone was amazed at the beautiful dress, especially the bride, who loved pretty dresses more than anything. She went to the stranger and asked if she would sell it. "Not for money," she answered, "but if I may spend the first night outside the door of the room where your betrothed sleeps, I will give it to you." The bride could not overcome her desire and consented, but she mixed a sleeping potion into the wine her betrothed drank at night, which made him fall into a deep sleep.

When all was quiet, the king's daughter crouched by the bedroom door, opened it a little, and cried,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear! Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear? That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour? That I rescued thy life from the witch's power? Didst thou not plight thy troth to me? Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

But it was in vain; the drummer did not wake. When morning dawned, the king's daughter had to go back as she came.

On the second evening, she turned her ring and said, "A dress as silvery as the moon." When she appeared at the feast in the dress as soft as moonbeams, it again excited the bride's desire. The king's daughter gave it to her for permission to spend the second night outside the bedroom door. In the stillness of the night, she cried again,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear! Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear? That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour? That I rescued thy life from the witch's power? Didst thou not plight thy troth to me? Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

But the drummer, stupefied by the sleeping potion, could not be roused. Sadly, she went back to her hut the next morning. But the people in the house had heard the stranger-maiden's lamentations and told the bridegroom about it. They also told him that his bride had put a sleeping potion in his wine.

On the third evening, the king's daughter turned her ring and said, "A dress glittering like the stars." When she showed herself in it at the feast, the bride was beside herself with its splendor, which far surpassed the others. "I must and will have it!" she said. The maiden gave it to her, as before, for permission to spend the night outside the bridegroom's door. This time, however, the bridegroom did not drink the wine handed to him before bed; he poured it behind the bed. When everything was quiet, he heard a sweet voice calling,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear! Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear? That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour? That I rescued thy life from the witch's power? Didst thou not plight thy troth to me? Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

Suddenly, his memory returned. "Ah!" he cried. "How could I have been so unfaithful? But the kiss I gave my parents on the right cheek in the joy of my heart—that is to blame! It stupefied me!" He sprang up, took the king's daughter by the hand, and led her to his parents' bed.

"This is my true bride," he said. "If I marry the other, I will do a great wrong." The parents, hearing how everything had happened, gave their consent. Then the lights in the hall were lit again, drums and trumpets were brought, friends and relatives were invited, and the real wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing.

The first bride received the beautiful dresses as compensation and declared herself satisfied.