THE FAIRY TALE OF DAME CARE.
There was once a mother, to whom the good God had given a son, but she was so poor and lonely that she had nobody who could stand godmother to him. And she sighed, and said, “Where shall I get a godmother from?” Then one evening at dusk there came a woman to her house who was dressed in gray and had a gray veil over her head. She said, “I will be your son’s godmother, and I will take care that he grows up a good man and does not let you starve; but you must give me his soul.”
Then his mother trembled, and said, “Who are you?”
“I am Dame Care,” answered the gray woman; and the mother wept; but as she suffered much from hunger, she gave the woman her son’s soul and she was his godmother.
And her son grew up and worked hard to procure her bread. But as he had no soul, he had no joy and no youth, and often he looked at his mother with reproachful eyes, as if he would ask,
“Mother, where is my soul?”
Then the mother grew sad and went out to find him a soul.
She asked the stars in the sky, “Will you give me a soul?” But they said, “He is too low for that.”
And she asked the flowers on the heath; they said, “He is too ugly.”
And she asked the birds in the trees; they said, “He is too sad.”
And she asked the high trees; they said, “He is too humble.”
And she asked the clever serpents, but they said, “He is too stupid.”
Then she went away weeping. And in the wood she met a young and beautiful princess surrounded by her court.
And because she saw the mother weeping she descended from her horse and took her to the castle, which was all built of gold and precious stones.
There she asked, “Tell me why you weep?” And the mother told the princess of her grief that she could not procure her son a soul nor joy and youth.
Then said the princess, “I cannot see anybody weep; I will tell you something—I will give him my soul.”
Then the mother fell down before her and kissed her hands.
“But,” said the princess, “I will not do it for nothing; he must ask me for it.” Then the mother went to her son, but Dame Care had laid her gray veil over his head, so that he was blind and could not see the princess.
And the mother pleaded, “Dear Dame Care, set him free.”
But Care smiled—and whoever saw her smile was forced to weep—and she said, “He must free himself.”
“How can he do that?” asked the mother.
“He must sacrifice to me all that he loves,” said Dame Care.
Then the mother grieved very much, and lay down and died. But the princess waits for her suitor to this very day.
“Mother, mother!” he cried, and sank down on the grave.
“Come,” said Elsbeth, struggling with her tears as she laid her hand on his shoulder; “let mother be, she is at peace; and she shall not harm us any more—your wicked Dame Care!”