"Then I will die here from grief," answered the deer. "When I hear the hunting horn I feel that I have to jump out of my shoes!"
Then the sister could not help herself, and with a heavy heart she unlocked the door for him. The deer vigorously and joyfully bounded off into the woods.
When the king saw him he said to his huntsmen, "Chase after him all day long and into the night, but take care that no one does him any harm."
As soon as the sun had set the king said to the huntsman, "Now come and show me the little house in the woods."
When he came to the door he knocked and called out, "Dear little sister, let me in."
The door opened, and the king walked in, and there stood a girl who was more beautiful than any girl he had ever seen. The girl was frightened when she saw that it was not her deer, but a man wearing a golden crown on his head who came in.
However, the king looked kindly at her, reached out his hand to her, and said, "Will you go with me to my castle and be my dear wife?"
"Oh, yes," answered the girl, "but the little deer must go with me. I cannot leave him."
The king said, "He shall stay with you as long as you live, and he shall want nothing."
Just then he came bounding in, and the sister again tied him to the cord of rushes. She herself took hold of it and walked out of the little house with him.
The king lifted the beautiful girl onto his horse and took her to his castle, where their wedding was held with great splendor. She was now the queen, and they lived happily together for a long time. The deer was cared for and cherished, and ran about in the castle garden.
Now the wicked stepmother who had caused the children to go out into the world thought that the sister had been torn to pieces by wild animals in the woods, and that the brother, as a deer, had been killed by the huntsmen. When she heard that they were happy and well off, envy and hatred filled her heart, leaving her no peace. Her only thoughts were how she could bring about their downfall.
Her own daughter, who was ugly as night and had only one eye, complained to her, saying, "I am the one who should have become queen."
"Just be quiet," answered the old woman, then comforted her by saying, "When the time comes I shall be at hand."
As time went by the queen brought a handsome little boy into the world. It happened at a time when the king was out hunting. Then the old witch took the form of the chambermaid, went into the room where the queen was lying and said to her, "Come, your bath is ready. It will do you good and give you fresh strength. Hurry, before it gets cold."
The witch's daughter was also nearby. They carried the weak queen into the bathroom and put her into the tub. Then they locked the door shut and ran away. Now they had made a fire of such hellish heat in the bathroom that the beautiful young queen soon suffocated.
When this was done the old woman took her daughter, put a nightcap on her head, and laid her in the queen's bed. Furthermore, she gave her the form and appearance of the queen, but she could not replace the lost eye. So that the king would not notice it, the witch's daughter was to lie on the side where she had no eye.
In the evening when the king came home and heard that he had a little son he was delighted. He was about to go to his dear wife's bed to see how she was, when the old woman quickly called out, "You must leave the curtains closed. The queen is not yet permitted to look into the light, and she must have her rest."
The king went away, not knowing that a false queen was lying there in her bed. At midnight when everyone was asleep, the nurse who was sitting in the nursery by the cradle, and who was the only one still awake, saw the door open and the true queen walk in. She took the child from the cradle, laid him on her arm, and nursed him. Then she fluffed up his pillow, laid him back down, and covered him with his little quilt. And she did not forget the deer, but went to the corner where he was lying and stroked his back. Then she went back out through the door without saying a word.
