Tuesday Tales: Brother and Sister

Ah, a return to the Brothers Grimm for today's Tuesday Tale. Brother and Sister is a well-known European tale, often confused with Hansel and Gretel because they both went by "Little Brother and Little Sister" at one point. This story is different from Hansel and Gretel though, so don't confuse the two.

Tired of ill treatment by their stepmother, a brother and sister ran away from home. Learning of their departure, the stepmother (a witch, naturally) cursed all the springs in the countryside. When the pair woke the next morning, they were thirsty and searched for fresh water. As the brother was about to drink from the first stream they found, the sister heard the rushing water saying "Whoever drinks from me will become a tiger."

The sister convinced the brother not to drink from the water (in fear for her life) and they continued their search. Again, they came to another spring. This time, the water said "Whoever drinks from me will become a wolf." Once more, they left in search of another stream. At the third stream, the sister heard the water say "Whoever drinks from me will become a deer." Before she could warn her brother, he drank it down and changed into a deer.

They accepted their plight and went to live alone in the woods, as best as the sister and the brother-deer could. One day, a hunting party followed the deer and found the home he shared with his sister. The King fell in love with the girl, now a young woman, and married her. She, her brother-deer, and the King lived in the castle happily for some time.

Eventually, the witchy stepmother learned that the children were still alive. She killed the young Queen and replaced her with her own daughter, transformed to look like the Queen. However, the Queen's ghost appeared nightly to watch over the bedside of her newborn son and the King figured it all out. The Queen came back to life, and the stepmother and her daughter were tried and convicted of their crimes. The daughter was sent out into the woods where she was eaten by wild animals, and the witch was burned at the stake. When the witch died, the Queen's brother became human once more. Then they finally lived happily ever after.

See? Nothing like Hansel and Gretel!


Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS