The twelve princes turn into ravens when the princess picks the lilies. 1934 illustration by the British artist Anne Anderson.
"The Twelve Brothers" (German: "Die zwölf Brüder") is a German fairy tale. It is included in Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales), the 1812 anthology of German folktales written by the Brothers Grimm, and in The Red Fairy Book, the 1890 anthology of fairy tales compiled by the Scottish folklorist Andrew Lang.
The plot is set in motion when a king decides that he wants his unborn daughter to inherit his kingdom. To ensure that, he intends to murder his twelve sons. The twelve princes find out about this plan and escape. They make a new home for themselves in a cottage in the woods. Ten years later, the princes' sister finds out about the existence of her twelve disinherited brothers for the first time. The princess decides to look for them. She finds them and the thirteen siblings live happily together in the cottage for some time. Their happiness comes to an end when the princess picks twelve lilies, not knowing that the flowers are magically connected to her brothers. As soon as she picks the lilies, the twelve princes are transformed into ravens. The princess is told that her brothers can only become human again if she does not talk or laugh for exactly seven years.
Similar stories exist in the folklore of North Africa, Greece, Russia and other European countries. Two other stories that are variants of the same folktale, "The Seven Ravens" and "The Six Swans", are also included in Kinder- und Hausmärchen by the Brothers Grimm. The Danish author Hans Christian Andersen drew on similar Scandinavian folktales to write "The Wild Swans", that was first published in 1838.
Plot[]
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The king gives the queen the key to the room where the twelve coffins are. 1912 illustration by the British artist Robert Anning Nell.
A king and a queen have twelve sons. When the queen becomes pregnant again, the king announces that, if the child is a girl, he will make sure that she inherits his kingdom. That means that he will have to murder his twelve sons. He has twelve coffins made, places them in a room, locks the door and gives the key to his wife. The queen is greatly troubled by this. Her youngest son, named Benjamin, asks her why she is unhappy. The queen reluctantly tells Benjamin everything and shows him the room where the twelve coffins are. Benjamin says that he and his eleven brothers can run away. The queen agrees that is for the best. She says that the twelve brothers should hide in the forest and take turns to climb to the top of the tallest tree to watch the castle. If the queen gives birth to another son, a white flag will fly above the castle. If she gives birth to a daughter, a red flag will fly above it.
Benjamin sees the red flag flying above the castle. 1890 illustration from The Red Fairy Book.
The twelve princes flee. On the eleventh day, Benjamin sees a red flag flying above the castle. The brothers are angry at being robbed of their inheritance by a girl. They decide to get their revenge by killing the first girl they see. The twelve brothers go deeper into the forest. They find an abandoned cottage and decide to live there. Benjamin stays at home to cook and clean while the other eleven brothers go out hunting each day. The twelve brothers live happily in the cottage for ten years. They do not see a girl during all of that time.
At the prince's former home, their now 10-year-old sister sees twelve men's shirts that are all too small for her father. She asks her mother about the shirts. For the first time, the queen tells the princess about her twelve brothers. She shows her the room where the twelve empty coffins are. When the princess asks her mother where her brothers are now, the queen replies that she does not know. The princess decides to look for her brothers. She leaves home and takes the twelve shirts with her.
The twelve princes are turned into ravens when the princess picks the lilies. 1890 illustration from The Red Fairy Book.
The princess goes into the cottage in the woods. Benjamin is the only one of the brothers at home. He asks her who she is and what she is doing. She replies that she is a princess and she is looking for her twelve brothers. She shows him the twelve shirts. Benjamin tells the princess that she has found her youngest brother. He also warns her that her other brothers have made up their minds to kill the first girl they see. He tells her to hide under a tub. When the other eleven brothers return home, Benjamin says that he has news for them. The other eleven brothers are eager to hear it. Benjamin says that he will only tell them if they promise not to kill the first girl they see. They agree. Benjamin lifts the tub and reveals their sister. All of the brothers are delighted to meet her. She stays with the twelve brothers in the cottage and helps Benjamin to keep house. They all live together happily for some time.
There are twelve lilies in the garden of the cottage. One day, the princess decides to pick the lilies. Her twelve brothers immediately turn into ravens and fly away. The cottage and the garden disappear. An old woman appears. She explains that the flowers were magically connected to the princess' brothers. The princess asks if anything can be done to make her brothers human again. The old woman replies that the only way to accomplish that is for the princess to neither speak nor laugh for exactly seven years.
The twelve ravens come to the rescue of their sister. 1890 illustration from The Red Fairy Book.
A king comes into the forest. He sees the princess and immediately falls in love with her. He asks her if she will marry him. Although she does not say anything, she nods her head. The king takes the princess back to his kingdom. He marries her as soon as they arrive and makes her his queen. They live together for almost seven years. The queen does not talk or laugh during all of that time. It is because she never laughs that the king's mother, described as a "wicked woman", distrusts her son's wife. She reasons that people who never laugh must have guilty consciences. She begins to spread lies about the queen, accusing her of terrible things. The king eventually comes to believe that his mothers constant false accusations must be true. He sentences his wife to be put to death by being burned at the stake.
Just as the flames are touching the hem of her dress, the seven years during which the queen had to keep silent come to an end. Twelve ravens fly towards the place of execution. They become human again and rescue their sister. The queen, now able to speak once more, explains everything to her husband.
For slandering the innocent queen, the king's mother is sentenced to death. She is thrown into a vat of boiling oil in which there are also poisonous snakes.[1]
See also[]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ This gruesome ending is omitted from the version of the story in The Red Fairy Book.