The Water of Life (German fairy tale)

Did You Know?

• Folklorist Stith Thompson noted great similarities between this tale type and type ATU 550, "Quest for the Golden Bird."
• The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 551.

Synopsis

A dying king is told by an old man that the water of life can save him. His three sons set out in turn. The two older sons, hoping to become heir, are rude to a dwarf and become trapped in ravines. The youngest son tells the dwarf his purpose and receives an iron wand to open castle gates and two loaves to feed lions inside.

He must obtain the water before the clock strikes twelve, when the gates close. He opens the gate, feeds the lions, and enters a hall where sleeping princes lie; he takes rings from their fingers, bread, and a sword from a table. He finds a beautiful princess who kisses him, says he has freed her, and promises to marry him if he returns within a year. She directs him to the spring.

He lies down to rest, falls asleep, and wakes at a quarter to twelve. He springs up, gets the water, and escapes as the closing gate takes off the heel of his boot. The dwarf frees the older brothers at the youngest's request but warns him of their evil hearts. They travel to three kingdoms plagued by war and famine; the prince defeats enemies with the sword and feeds people with the loaf.

On a ship home, the older brothers steal the water of life and fill his bottle with seawater. The king is sickened by the seawater, and the older brothers accuse the youngest of poisoning him. The king orders his secret killing, but the huntsman spares him and they swap clothes. Treasure arrives from the three saved kingdoms, and the king regrets his decision. The huntsman confesses, and the king proclaims the prince may return freely.

Variants

A German scholar named Ernst Tegethoff once translated a medieval French romance, calling it "Die Quelle der Jugend" ("The Fountain of Youth"). In that story, a sick king is told only the water from the fountain of life can cure him. He sends his three sons to find it, and they must pass four obstacles, the last being a castle where a maiden holds the keys to the fountain. The youngest prince gets advice from an old hermit, reaches the castle, and begs the maiden for the water.

She gives it to him and declares she will be his wife. Swedish collectors George Stephens and Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius noted that "The Water of Life" is a German variant close to their Swedish tale "Ungdoms-Landet" ("The Land of Youth"). They also pointed to a Russian variant later translated as "Story of Lyubim Tsarevich and the Winged Wolf" and "Prince Lubim and the Winged Wolf." In many versions, the healing object is the water of youth, the waters of life and death, or a magical bird.

In the Hungarian variant "Der Fink mit der goldenen Stimme," the king can be healed by seeking both items. Sometimes the fairy maiden or foreign princess travels with her army or navy to find the man who stole her bird or water. In Estonian sources, the tale type is called "Imelik peegel" ("The Wonderful Mirror") or "Noorendav peegel" ("The Mirror That Makes One Younger"), after a story by author Juhan Kunder.

In popular culture

In the Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics adaptation from the Grimm Masterpiece Theater season, the story of The Water of Life features only two brothers instead of three. The protagonist is the prince Joseph, while his eldest brother Franz is the treacherous one. Joseph falls in love with Princess Anna. A dwarf helps Joseph by summoning animals and the North Wind to ask where the Water of Life is located; the North Wind tells Joseph, whereas Franz had earlier been banished to the Valley of No Return for his rudeness.

Instead of a magic wand, Joseph uses moonlight to break the lock on Princess Anna's room, where a demon attacks her but is destroyed by the moonlight. While Joseph collects the water, Anna flees the castle, picking up Joseph's broken sword, which reveals his kingdom's name. Joseph promises to court her after his father recovers. On his way home, Joseph finds the injured Franz and heals him with the water.

Franz then swaps the water with swamp water. Initially, the king banishes Joseph instead of executing him, but later orders a huntsman to kill him after Franz claims Joseph will try to poison him again. Joseph accepts his fate and asks the huntsman, who is also a knight, to carry out the order as his duty. The huntsman refuses, knowing Joseph is innocent, and convinces him to flee.

He presents Joseph's clothes as proof of death and quits the king's service. Princess Anna reveals Franz's treachery at Franz's coronation, thinking it is Joseph's. Franz tries to flee but is caught by guards. The heartbroken king tells Anna he ordered Joseph's death, and she faints. While traveling home, Anna stops at a windmill for water, where Joseph and the huntsman work. She recognizes Joseph by his voice, and they are joyfully reunited.