The Twelve Brothers

There were twelve brothers who fell out with their father， and all twelve of them left home. They built themselves a house in the woods and made their living as carpenters. Meanwhile their parents had a baby girl， who was a great comfort to them. The child grew up without ever meeting her twelve brothers. She had only heard them mentioned， and she longed to see them.

One day she went to bathe at a fountain， and the first thing she did was remove her coral necklace and hang it on a twig. A raven came by， grabbed the necklace， and flew off with it. The girl ran into the woods after the raven and found her brothers house. No one was at home， so she cooked the noodles， spooned them onto the brothersplates， and hid under a bed. The brothers returned and， finding the noodles ready and waiting， sat down and ate. But then they grew uneasy， suspecting the witches had played a joke on them， for the woods were full of witches.

One of the twelve kept watch the next day and saw the girl jump out from under the bed. When the brothers learned she was not a witch but their own little sister， they made a great to-do over her and insisted that she remain with them. But they cautioned her to speak to no one in the woods， because the place was full of witches.

One evening when the girl went to prepare supper， she found that the fire had gone out. To save time， she went to a nearby cottage to get a light. An old woman at the cottage graciously gave her the light， but said that， in exchange， she would come to the girl on the morrow and suck a bit of blood from her little finger.

“I cant let anyone into the house，” said the girl. “My brothers forbid it.”

“You dont even have to open the door，” replied the old woman. “When I knock， all you have to do is stick your little finger through the keyhole， and Ill suck it.” So the old woman came by every evening to suck the blood from her， while the girl grew paler and paler. Her brothers noticed it and asked her so many questions that she admitted going to an old witch for a light and having to pay for it with her blood. “Just let us take care of her，”said the brothers.

The witch arrived， knocked， and when the girl failed to stick her finger through the keyhole， she poked her head through the cat door. One of the brothers had his hatchet ready and chopped off her head. Then they pitched the remains into a ravine.

One day on the way to the fountain， the girl met another old woman， who was selling white bowls.

“I have no money，” said the girl.

“In that case Ill make you a present of them，” said the old woman.

So when the brothers came home thirsty， they found twelve bowels filled with water. They pitched in and drank， and instantly changed into a herd of oxen. Only the twelfth， whose thirst was slight， barely touched the water and turned into a lamb. The sister therefore found herself alone with eleven oxen and one lamb to feed every day.

A prince out hunting went astray in the woods and， turning up at the girls house， fell in love with her. He asked her to marry him， but she replied that she had to think of her oxen brothers and couldnt possibly leave them. The prince took her to his palace along with all the brothers. The girl became his princess bride， and the eleven oxen and the lamb were put into a marble barn with gold mangers.But the witches in the woods did not give up. One day the princess was strolling under the grape arbor with her lambkin brother that she always carried with her， when an old woman walked up to her.

“Will you give me a bunch of grapes， my good princess？”

“Yes， dear old soul， help yourself. ”

“I cant reach up that high， please pick them for me. ”

“Right away，” said the princess， reaching up for a bunch.

“Pick that bunch there， theyre the ripest，” said the old woman， pointing to a bunch above the cistern.

To reach it， the princess had to stand on the rim of the cistern. The old woman gave her a push， and the princess fell in. The lamb started bleating， and bleated all around the cistern， but nobody understood what it was bleating about， nor did they hear the princess moaning down in the well. Meanwhile the witch had taken the princesss shape and got into her bed. When the prince came home， he asked，“What are you doing in bed？”

“Im sick，” said the false princess “I need to eat a morsel of lamb. Slaughter me that one out there that wont stop bleating.”

“Didnt you tell me some time ago，” asked the prince， “that the lamb was your brother？ And you want to eat him now？ ”

The witch had blundered and was at a loss for words. The prince， sensing that something was amiss， went into the garden and followed the lamb that was bleating so pitifully. It approached the cistern， and the prince heard his wife calling.“What are you doing at the bottom of the cistern？” he exclaimed “Didnt I just leave you in bed？”

“No， Ive been down here ever since this morning！ A witch threw me in！”

The prince ordered his wife pulled up at once. The witch was caught and burned at the stake. While the fire burned， the oxen and also the lamb slowly turned back into fine， strapping young men， and youd have thought the castle had been invaded by a band of giants. They were all made princes.

从前有十二个兄弟，跟父亲吵架后，一起离开了家。他们在森林里搭起了一座房屋，以做木匠活为生。他们的父母又生了一个女儿，她成了二老生活的寄托。小妹长大了，她只是听说过十二个哥哥的事，但从没跟他们见过面，她非常渴望能见到他们。

有一次，小妹到泉水边洗澡，她先把自己戴的珊瑚项链摘了下来挂在了一根树枝上。正好有一只乌鸦飞过，叼起项链飞走了。小妹追着乌鸦跑进了森林，见到了哥哥们住的那座房屋。屋里一个人也没有，小妹煮好一锅面条，盛在盘子中，就钻到床下躲起来。十二兄弟回到家，看到面条已经煮好了，而且还给盛在盘子中，就吃了起来。吃完以后，他们都有些害怕，担心是女巫跟他们开的一个玩笑，因为这片森林里有很多女巫。

第二天，十二个兄弟留下一个人守着房间，他发现一个姑娘从床底下跳了出来。当兄弟们知道她并非女巫而是他们从没见过面的小妹时，都高兴地欢呼起来，他们坚持让小妹留下来跟他们一起生活。但他们又叮嘱她，不得和森林中的任何人说话，因为林子里满是女巫。

一天傍晚，炉火灭了，可小妹要给哥哥们准备晚饭。为了节省时间，她来到附近的一间小屋借火。小屋中住着一个老妇人，她很热情地答应借火给小妹，但提出了交换条件：第二天她要在小妹的小手指上吸一点血。

小妹说：“我不能让任何人进屋，我的哥哥们不允许。”

老妇人说：“你甚至都不用开门，当你听到我的敲门声，把小手指伸进钥匙孔里，让我吸几下就行了。”就这样，老妇人每天晚上都来吸小妹的血，小妹的脸色变得越来越苍白。哥哥们觉得不对劲，就问小妹，经过几翻盘问，小妹才把她为了找女巫借火，让女巫吸她的血作交换的事说了。哥哥们说：“这事让我们来处理吧。”

女巫又来了，敲门后没看到姑娘的手指从锁孔里伸出来，女巫就从门下方的猫洞伸进头来。一个哥哥拿着一把斧头正等着她呢，手起斧落，女巫的头就被砍了下来。然后兄弟们把女巫的尸首扔下了山谷。

一天，小妹去泉边时遇到了另一个老妇人，在卖白色的碗。

“我没有钱买。”姑娘说。

“那样的话，我就白送给你。”老妇说。

就这样，哥哥们口干舌燥地回到家时，一眼就看见了盛满了水的十二只白碗，他们纷纷一饮而尽，一下子全都变成了牛。只有第十二个哥哥，不像其他哥哥那么渴，只喝了一口水，变成了一只羊。小妹只好孤单地跟这十一头牛和一只羊一起生活，每天喂养他们。

这一天，一个王子来森林里打猎迷了路，转到小妹的屋子那儿，爱上了她。王子告诉她想要娶她为妻，而她回答说她必须照顾她的十二只牛哥羊哥，不能丢下他们不管。于是王子带着她和她的十二个兄长回到了王宫，小妹成了他的新娘王妃，那十一头牛和一只羊被安排住进一间大理石砌成的牛棚，用着金子做的食槽。但森林中的女巫并不甘心。有一天，王妃带着羊哥哥——她总是带着他在身边——到葡萄架下散步时，出现了一位老妇人。

“好心的王妃，你能赏我一串葡萄吗？”

“好的，老太太，你随便摘吧。”王妃回答。

“我够不到那么高，好心的王妃，你帮我摘吧。”

“这就来。”王妃说着，伸出手去摘一串葡萄。

“摘那边那串熟透的吧。”老妇人指着池塘上边的那串葡萄说。

王妃为了摘到那串葡萄，爬上池塘的边缘，这时，老妇人上去推了她一把，王妃就摔了下去。羊哥一见，咩咩地围着池塘叫了起来，但谁也不明白他在叫什么，也听不到池塘下边王妃的呻吟声。这时，女巫变成王妃的样子，躺在床上。王子回到家，问：“你怎么躺在床上？”

假王妃回答说：“我不舒服，我需要吃一些羊肉。你让人把外边那只叫个不停的羊给我宰了。”

王子说：“你难道不记得你以前对我说的话吗？你说那只羊是你的哥哥，而你现在却要把他吃了？”

女巫露出了马脚！她愣在那里不知说什么才好。王子发现事有蹊跷，他来到花园，跟着那只拚命叫着的羊向池塘走去。到了池塘边，王子听见妻子呼唤他的声音。王子惊叫道：“你怎么到池塘底下了，刚才你还在床上，我不是刚离开你吗？”

“不，我从早上就掉到这里了，是一个女巫把我推下来的！”

王子立即命人把妻子救了上来。他派人抓住了女巫，而且要烧死她。随着火一点点烧到女巫的手上、腿上、肘上，一头牛变回了人，另一头也变回了人，所有的牛和羊都变回了人，他们全都很健壮，好像一队威武的巨人闯入了城堡。他们全都被封为亲王。

（于 歌 供稿）