![\"THE](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/THE-JUNIPER-TREE.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1\")
<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\nLong, long ago, some two thousand years or so, there lived a rich man with a good and beautiful wife. They loved each other dearly, but sorrowed much that they had no children. So greatly did they desire to have one, that the wife prayed for it day and night, but still they remained childless.<\/p>\n
In front of the house there was a court, in which grew a juniper-tree. One winter\u2019s day the wife stood under the tree to peel some apples, and as she was peeling them, she cut her finger, and the blood fell on the snow. \u2018Ah,\u2019 sighed the woman heavily, \u2018if I had but a child, as red as blood and as white as snow,\u2019 and as she spoke the words, her heart grew light within her, and it seemed to her that her wish was granted, and she returned to the house feeling glad and comforted. A month passed, and the snow had all disappeared; then another month went by, and all the earth was green. So the months followed one another, and first the trees budded in the woods, and soon the green branches grew thickly intertwined, and then the blossoms began to fall. Once again the wife stood under the juniper-tree, and it was so full of sweet scent that her heart leaped for joy, and she was so overcome with her happiness, that she fell on her knees. Presently the fruit became round and firm, and she was glad and at peace; but when they were fully ripe she picked the berries and ate eagerly of them, and then she grew sad and ill. A little while later she called her husband, and said to him, weeping. \u2018If I die, bury me under the juniper-tree.\u2019 Then she felt comforted and happy again, and before another month had passed she had a little child, and when she saw that it was as white as snow and as red as blood, her joy was so great that she died.<\/p>\n
Her husband buried her under the juniper-tree, and wept bitterly for her. By degrees, however, his sorrow grew less, and although at times he still grieved over his loss, he was able to go about as usual, and later on he married again.<\/p>\n
He now had a little daughter born to him; the child of his first wife was a boy, who was as red as blood and as white as snow. The mother loved her daughter very much, and when she looked at her and then looked at the boy, it pierced her heart to think that he would always stand in the way of her own child, and she was continually thinking how she could get the whole of the property for her. This evil thought took possession of her more and more, and made her behave very unkindly to the boy. She drove him from place to place with cuffings and buffetings, so that the poor child went about in fear, and had no peace from the time he left school to the time he went back.<\/p>\n
One day the little daughter came running to her mother in the store-room, and said, \u2018Mother, give me an apple.\u2019 \u2018Yes, my child,\u2019 said the wife, and she gave her a beautiful apple out of the chest; the chest had a very heavy lid and a large iron lock.<\/p>\n
\u2018Mother,\u2019 said the little daughter again, \u2018may not brother have one too?\u2019 The mother was angry at this, but she answered, \u2018Yes, when he comes out of school.\u2019<\/p>\n
Just then she looked out of the window and saw him coming, and it seemed as if an evil spirit entered into her, for she snatched the apple out of her little daughter\u2019s hand, and said, \u2018You shall not have one before your brother.\u2019 She threw the apple into the chest and shut it to. The little boy now came in, and the evil spirit in the wife made her say kindly to him, \u2018My son, will you have an apple?\u2019 but she gave him a wicked look. \u2018Mother,\u2019 said the boy, \u2018how dreadful you look! Yes, give me an apple.\u2019 The thought came to her that she would kill him. \u2018Come with me,\u2019 she said, and she lifted up the lid of the chest; \u2018take one out for yourself.\u2019 And as he bent over to do so, the evil spirit urged her, and crash! down went the lid, and off went the little boy\u2019s head. Then she was overwhelmed with fear at the thought of what she had done. \u2018If only I can prevent anyone knowing that I did it,\u2019 she thought. So she went upstairs to her room, and took a white handkerchief out of her top drawer; then she set the boy\u2019s head again on his shoulders, and bound it with the handkerchief so that nothing could be seen, and placed him on a chair by the door with an apple in his hand.<\/p>\n
Soon after this, little Marleen came up to her mother who was stirring a pot of boiling water over the fire, and said, \u2018Mother, brother is sitting by the door with an apple in his hand, and he looks so pale; and when I asked him to give me the apple, he did not answer, and that frightened me.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Go to him again,\u2019 said her mother, \u2018and if he does not answer, give him a box on the ear.\u2019 So little Marleen went, and said, \u2018Brother, give me that apple,\u2019 but he did not say a word; then she gave him a box on the ear, and his head rolled off. She was so terrified at this, that she ran crying and screaming to her mother. \u2018Oh!\u2019 she said, \u2018I have knocked off brother\u2019s head,\u2019 and then she wept and wept, and nothing would stop her.<\/p>\n
\u2018What have you done!\u2019 said her mother, \u2018but no one must know about it, so you must keep silence; what is done can\u2019t be undone; we will make him into puddings.\u2019 And she took the little boy and cut him up, made him into puddings, and put him in the pot. But Marleen stood looking on, and wept and wept, and her tears fell into the pot, so that there was no need of salt.<\/p>\n
Presently the father came home and sat down to his dinner; he asked, \u2018Where is my son?\u2019 The mother said nothing, but gave him a large dish of black pudding, and Marleen still wept without ceasing.<\/p>\n
The father again asked, \u2018Where is my son?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Oh,\u2019 answered the wife, \u2018he is gone into the country to his mother\u2019s great uncle; he is going to stay there some time.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018What has he gone there for, and he never even said goodbye to me!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Well, he likes being there, and he told me he should be away quite six weeks; he is well looked after there.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I feel very unhappy about it,\u2019 said the husband, \u2018in case it should not be all right, and he ought to have said goodbye to me.\u2019<\/p>\n
With this he went on with his dinner, and said, \u2018Little Marleen, why do you weep? Brother will soon be back.\u2019 Then he asked his wife for more pudding, and as he ate, he threw the bones under the table.<\/p>\n
Little Marleen went upstairs and took her best silk handkerchief out of her bottom drawer, and in it she wrapped all the bones from under the table and carried them outside, and all the time she did nothing but weep. Then she laid them in the green grass under the juniper-tree, and she had no sooner done so, then all her sadness seemed to leave her, and she wept no more. And now the juniper-tree began to move, and the branches waved backwards and forwards, first away from one another, and then together again, as it might be someone clapping their hands for joy. After this a mist came round the tree, and in the midst of it there was a burning as of fire, and out of the fire there flew a beautiful bird, that rose high into the air, singing magnificently, and when it could no more be seen, the juniper-tree stood there as before, and the silk handkerchief and the bones were gone.<\/p>\n
Little Marleen now felt as lighthearted and happy as if her brother were still alive, and she went back to the house and sat down cheerfully to the table and ate.<\/p>\n
The bird flew away and alighted on the house of a goldsmith and began to sing:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n My sister loved me best of all;\r\n She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nThe goldsmith was in his workshop making a gold chain, when he heard the song of the bird on his roof. He thought it so beautiful that he got up and ran out, and as he crossed the threshold he lost one of his slippers. But he ran on into the middle of the street, with a slipper on one foot and a sock on the other; he still had on his apron, and still held the gold chain and the pincers in his hands, and so he stood gazing up at the bird, while the sun came shining brightly down on the street.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bird,\u2019 he said, \u2018how beautifully you sing! Sing me that song again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Nay,\u2019 said the bird, \u2018I do not sing twice for nothing. Give that gold chain, and I will sing it you again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Here is the chain, take it,\u2019 said the goldsmith. \u2018Only sing me that again.\u2019<\/p>\n
The bird flew down and took the gold chain in his right claw, and then he alighted again in front of the goldsmith and sang:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n My sister loved me best of all;\r\n She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nThen he flew away, and settled on the roof of a shoemaker\u2019s house and sang:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n My sister loved me best of all;\r\n She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nThe shoemaker heard him, and he jumped up and ran out in his shirt-sleeves, and stood looking up at the bird on the roof with his hand over his eyes to keep himself from being blinded by the sun.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bird,\u2019 he said, \u2018how beautifully you sing!\u2019 Then he called through the door to his wife: \u2018Wife, come out; here is a bird, come and look at it and hear how beautifully it sings.\u2019 Then he called his daughter and the children, then the apprentices, girls and boys, and they all ran up the street to look at the bird, and saw how splendid it was with its red and green feathers, and its neck like burnished gold, and eyes like two bright stars in its head.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bird,\u2019 said the shoemaker, \u2018sing me that song again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Nay,\u2019 answered the bird, \u2018I do not sing twice for nothing; you must give me something.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Wife,\u2019 said the man, \u2018go into the garret; on the upper shelf you will see a pair of red shoes; bring them to me.\u2019 The wife went in and fetched the shoes.<\/p>\n
\u2018There, bird,\u2019 said the shoemaker, \u2018now sing me that song again.\u2019<\/p>\n
The bird flew down and took the red shoes in his left claw, and then he went back to the roof and sang:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n My sister loved me best of all;\r\n She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nWhen he had finished, he flew away. He had the chain in his right claw and the shoes in his left, and he flew right away to a mill, and the mill went \u2018Click clack, click clack, click clack.\u2019 Inside the mill were twenty of the miller\u2019s men hewing a stone, and as they went \u2018Hick hack, hick hack, hick hack,\u2019 the mill went \u2018Click clack, click clack, click clack.\u2019<\/p>\n
The bird settled on a lime-tree in front of the mill and sang:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n<\/pre>\nthen one of the men left off,<\/p>\n
My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n<\/pre>\ntwo more men left off and listened,<\/p>\n
My sister loved me best of all;\r\n<\/pre>\nthen four more left off,<\/p>\n
She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n<\/pre>\nNow there were only eight at work,<\/p>\n
Underneath,\r\n<\/pre>\nand now only five,<\/p>\n
the juniper-tree.\r\n<\/pre>\nand now only one,<\/p>\n
Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nthen he looked up and the last one had left off work.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bird,\u2019 he said, \u2018what a beautiful song that is you sing! Let me hear it too; sing it again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Nay,\u2019 answered the bird, \u2018I do not sing twice for nothing; give me that millstone, and I will sing it again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018If it belonged to me alone,\u2019 said the man, \u2018you should have it.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes, yes,\u2019 said the others: \u2018if he will sing again, he can have it.\u2019<\/p>\n
The bird came down, and all the twenty millers set to and lifted up the stone with a beam; then the bird put his head through the hole and took the stone round his neck like a collar, and flew back with it to the tree and sang\u2014<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n My sister loved me best of all;\r\n She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nAnd when he had finished his song, he spread his wings, and with the chain in his right claw, the shoes in his left, and the millstone round his neck, he flew right away to his father\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
The father, the mother, and little Marleen were having their dinner.<\/p>\n
\u2018How lighthearted I feel,\u2019 said the father, \u2018so pleased and cheerful.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018And I,\u2019 said the mother, \u2018I feel so uneasy, as if a heavy thunderstorm were coming.\u2019<\/p>\n
But little Marleen sat and wept and wept.<\/p>\n
Then the bird came flying towards the house and settled on the roof.<\/p>\n
\u2018I do feel so happy,\u2019 said the father, \u2018and how beautifully the sun shines; I feel just as if I were going to see an old friend again.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Ah!\u2019 said the wife, \u2018and I am so full of distress and uneasiness that my teeth chatter, and I feel as if there were a fire in my veins,\u2019 and she tore open her dress; and all the while little Marleen sat in the corner and wept, and the plate on her knees was wet with her tears.<\/p>\n
The bird now flew to the juniper-tree and began singing:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n<\/pre>\nthe mother shut her eyes and her ears, that she might see and hear nothing, but there was a roaring sound in her ears like that of a violent storm, and in her eyes a burning and flashing like lightning:<\/p>\n
My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n<\/pre>\n\u2018Look, mother,\u2019 said the man, \u2018at the beautiful bird that is singing so magnificently; and how warm and bright the sun is, and what a delicious scent of spice in the air!\u2019<\/p>\n
My sister loved me best of all;\r\n<\/pre>\nthen little Marleen laid her head down on her knees and sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u2018I must go outside and see the bird nearer,\u2019 said the man.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ah, do not go!\u2019 cried the wife. \u2018I feel as if the whole house were in flames!\u2019<\/p>\n
But the man went out and looked at the bird.<\/p>\n
She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nWith that the bird let fall the gold chain, and it fell just round the man\u2019s neck, so that it fitted him exactly.<\/p>\n
He went inside, and said, \u2018See, what a splendid bird that is; he has given me this beautiful gold chain, and looks so beautiful himself.\u2019<\/p>\n
But the wife was in such fear and trouble, that she fell on the floor, and her cap fell from her head.<\/p>\n
Then the bird began again:<\/p>\n
\u2018My mother killed her little son;\r\n<\/pre>\n\u2018Ah me!\u2019 cried the wife, \u2018if I were but a thousand feet beneath the earth, that I might not hear that song.\u2019<\/p>\n
My father grieved when I was gone;\r\n<\/pre>\nthen the woman fell down again as if dead.<\/p>\n
My sister loved me best of all;\r\n<\/pre>\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said little Marleen, \u2018I will go out too and see if the bird will give me anything.\u2019<\/p>\n
So she went out.<\/p>\n
She laid her kerchief over me,\r\n And took my bones that they might lie\r\n<\/pre>\nand he threw down the shoes to her,<\/p>\n
Underneath the juniper-tree\r\n Kywitt, Kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!\u2019\r\n<\/pre>\nAnd she now felt quite happy and lighthearted; she put on the shoes and danced and jumped about in them. \u2018I was so miserable,\u2019 she said, \u2018when I came out, but that has all passed away; that is indeed a splendid bird, and he has given me a pair of red shoes.\u2019<\/p>\n
The wife sprang up, with her hair standing out from her head like flames of fire. \u2018Then I will go out too,\u2019 she said, \u2018and see if it will lighten my misery, for I feel as if the world were coming to an end.\u2019<\/p>\n
But as she crossed the threshold, crash! the bird threw the millstone down on her head, and she was crushed to death.<\/p>\n
The father and little Marleen heard the sound and ran out, but they only saw mist and flame and fire rising from the spot, and when these had passed, there stood the little brother, and he took the father and little Marleen by the hand; then they all three rejoiced, and went inside together and sat down to their dinners and ate.<\/p>\n
Summary<\/h3>\n
A rich couple longed for a child. The wife prayed under a juniper tree, and eventually gave birth to a boy as white as snow and red as blood. However, she died shortly after. The man remarried, and his new wife bore a daughter. The stepmother, jealous of the boy, planned to get rid of him to secure the inheritance for her daughter.<\/p>\n
One day, the stepmother tricked the boy into reaching into a chest for an apple. When he did, she slammed the lid, decapitating him. To hide her crime, she propped up his body, tied his head back on with a handkerchief, and told her daughter to offer him an apple. When the girl did so, the boy’s head fell off. Panicked, the stepmother decided to cook the boy into a stew, which she served to his unsuspecting father.<\/p>\n
The daughter, Marleen, gathered the boy’s bones and buried them under the juniper tree. Mysteriously, a beautiful bird emerged from the tree. The bird flew to three locations: a goldsmith’s, a shoemaker’s, and a mill. At each stop, it sang a revealing song about the murder and received a gift: a gold chain, red shoes, and a millstone.<\/p>\n
Finally, the bird returned to the family’s house. It sang its song, dropped the gold chain to the father and the red shoes to Marleen. When the guilty stepmother came outside, the bird dropped the millstone on her, killing her instantly. In a magical transformation, the boy reappeared, and the reunited family went back into the house, happy once more.<\/p>\n
This dark tale incorporates themes of death, rebirth, and poetic justice, wrapped in the supernatural elements common to many Brothers Grimm stories.<\/p>\n
Bio<\/h3>\n
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, known as the Brothers Grimm, were German academics, linguists, and authors who lived in the late 18th to mid-19th centuries.<\/p>\n
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859) were born in Hanau, Germany. They were raised in a middle-class family and studied law at the University of Marburg. However, their true passion lay in collecting and preserving German folklore.<\/p>\n
In 1812, they published their first collection of folk tales, “Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen” (Children’s and Household Tales), which included now-famous stories like “Cinderella,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Snow White.” This work, later known as “Grimms’ Fairy Tales,” underwent several revisions and became a cornerstone of Western folklore.<\/p>\n
Beyond fairy tales, the brothers made significant contributions to linguistics. They began work on a comprehensive German dictionary and formulated “Grimm’s Law,” a principle in historical linguistics about sound shifts in Indo-European languages.<\/p>\n
The Brothers Grimm were also politically active, advocating for German unification and civil liberties. In 1837, they were among the “G\u00f6ttingen Seven” professors who protested against the king of Hanover’s abrogation of the constitution.<\/p>\n
Their work in preserving and studying German cultural heritage earned them respect in academic circles and popularity among the general public. Today, the Brothers Grimm are remembered not only for their fairy tales but also for their contributions to the fields of folklore, linguistics, and German cultural studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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