The Juniper Tree (fairy tale)

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The Juniper Tree is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is tale number 47 and Aarne-Thompson type 720, my mother slew me; my father ate me.

[edit] Synopsis

A woman wishes for a child as red as blood and as white as snow, gives birth to a son, and dies. Her husband grieves, and married again. His second wife gave birth to a daughter, Marlinchen, but was jealous of the son. One day, she tricks the boy into reaching into a great chest, and slams its heavy lid on him, knocking his head off. She then arranges the child as if still living, and tricks Marlinchen into boxing his ear, leading her to believe that she had killed him. She reassured Marlinchen and turns the boy's body into black puddings.

The father eats the puddings, but Marlinchen takes up the bones and buries them beneath a juniper tree. A bird flies out of the tree. It goes and sings a song to a goldsmith, who gives it a golden chain, to a shoemaker, who gives it a pair of red shoes, and to millers, who give it a millstone. It then flies back home and sings its song. The father goes out and the golden chain falls about his neck. It sings again, Marlinchen goes out, and the red shoes fall to her. It sings a third time, the stepmother goes out, and the bird drops the millstone on her, crushing her.

The bird is transformed back into the brother, and they all go back inside.

[edit] Commentary

Although this and The Rose-Tree are clearly variants on each other, the sexes of the children are reversed: in The Rose-Tree it is the girl who is killed and transformed into a bird.