Oldal 186 [186]
146 GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES.
in the ceiling just above her head. ‘Then Clever Else began
to cry, for she thought,
“If I marry Hans, and we have a child, and it grows big,
and we send it into the cellar to draw beer, that pickaxe might
fall on his head and kill him.”
So there she sat and cried with all her might, lamenting
the anticipated misfortune. All the while they were waiting
upstairs for something to drink, and they waited in vain. At
last the mistress said to the maid,
‘““Go down to the cellar and see why Else does not come.”
So the maid went, and found her sitting in front of the
cask crying with all her might.
‘What are you crying for?” said the maid.
“Oh dear me,” answered she, "how can I help crying?
if I marry Hans, and we have a child, and it grows big, and
we send it here to draw beer, perhaps the pickaxe may fall on
its head and kill it.”
“Our Else is clever indeed!” said the maid, and directly
sat down to bewail the anticipated misfortune. After a while,
when the people upstairs found that the maid did not return,
and they were becoming more and more thirsty, the master
said to the boy,
“You go down into the cellar, and see what Else and the
maid are doing.”
The boy did so, and there he found both Clever Else and
the maid sitting crying together. ‘Then he asked what was
the matter. |
“Oh dear me,” said Else, "how can we help crying? if I
marry Hans, and we have a child, and it grows big, and we
send it here to draw beer, the pickaxe might fall on its head
and kill it.”
“Our Else is clever indeed!” said the boy, and sitting
down beside her, he began howling with a good will. Upstairs
they were all waiting for him to come back, but as he did not
come, the master said to the mistress,
“You go down to the cellar and see what Else is doing.”
So the mistress went down and found all three in great
lamentations, and when she asked the cause, then Else told
her how the future possible child might be killed as soon as
it was big enough to be sent to draw beer, by the pickaxe
falling on it. ‘Then the mother at once exclaimed,