Once, the king of a great land died, leaving his queen to look after their only daughter. The princess was very beautiful, and her mother loved her dearly. A good fairy also watched over the girl and helped her. When the princess grew up, she was promised to marry a prince who lived in a far country.
As the wedding day came near, the queen packed many expensive things for her daughter: jewels, gold, silver, and beautiful dresses. She also gave her a servant to ride with her and a special horse for the journey. This horse was named Falada. It was a gift from the fairy, and it had a special power: it could talk.
Before they set off, the queen went to her room and cut off a small piece of her own hair. She gave it to the princess and said, "Take care of this, dear child. It is a charm that will protect you on the road." The princess tucked the hair into her dress, climbed onto Falada, and began her journey.
One day, while they were riding by a stream, the princess felt very thirsty. She said to her servant, "Please get off your horse and fetch me some water in my golden cup."
"No," the servant answered rudely. "If you are thirsty, get off your horse yourself and drink from the water. I will not be your servant anymore."
The princess was so thirsty that she got down and drank from the stream with her hands. She was too frightened to use her golden cup. She cried and said, "What will happen to me?"
The lock of hair answered her: "If your mother knew this, her heart would break with sadness."
The princess was very gentle, so she said nothing. She got back on her horse and they continued. The sun became very hot, and soon the princess was thirsty again. When they reached a river, she asked the servant again for some water.
The servant answered even more proudly, "Drink if you want, but I am not your servant!"
The princess got off her horse and leaned over the water. As she did, the lock of hair fell out of her dress and floated away in the river. She was so upset that she didn't notice, but the servant saw it. The servant was happy because she knew the princess had lost her protection.
"Now," the servant said, "I will ride Falada, and you will ride my horse." She forced the princess to take off her royal clothes and put on the servant’s old, dirty ones. The servant then threatened to kill the princess if she ever told anyone the truth. Falada saw everything, but stayed quiet.
When they arrived at the palace, the prince met them. He thought the servant was the true princess and led her upstairs. The real princess was told to stay outside in the courtyard.
The old king looked out of his window and saw the girl in the yard. She looked very pretty and delicate. He went to the false bride and asked, "Who is that girl standing outside?"
"She is just someone I brought for company," the servant replied. "Give her some work so she isn't lazy."
The king sent the real princess to help a boy named Curdken look after the royal geese.
The false bride was still afraid that Falada might talk and tell the truth. She asked the prince to kill the horse. When the true princess heard this, she was very sad. She paid the man who killed the horse to nail Falada’s head to a large, dark gate in the city. She had to walk through this gate every morning to look after the geese.
The next morning, as she walked under the gate, she said, "Falada, Falada, you are hanging there."
The head answered, "Princess, princess, you are walking there. If your mother knew this, her heart would break with sadness."
In the field, the princess sat down and brushed her hair. It was as bright as pure silver. Curdken wanted to pull some of it out, but the princess sang a song to the wind. Suddenly, a strong wind blew Curdken’s hat away. He had to run after it, and by the time he came back, the princess had finished her hair.
Curdken was angry and told the king, "I don't want that girl to help me anymore. She talks to a horse's head on the wall, and she makes the wind blow my hat away!"
The king decided to find out the truth. The next day, he hid behind the dark gate and heard the princess talk to Falada. Then he hid in the field and saw the silver hair and the wind. That evening, he called the girl aside and asked her for an explanation.
"I cannot tell you," she cried. "If I speak, I will lose my life."
The king was kind and patient, and finally, she told him the whole story. The king immediately ordered royal clothes for her. When she put them on, she was so beautiful that everyone was amazed.
The king held a great feast. He sat the false bride on one side and the true princess on the other. No one recognized the goose-girl in her beautiful dress. After dinner, the king told the story of the princess as if it were a legend. He asked the servant, "What should happen to someone who treats a mistress like this?"
The false bride answered, "She should be put in a barrel filled with sharp nails and dragged through the streets until she is dead."
"You have described your own punishment," said the king.
The prince was happy to marry his true bride, and they lived in peace for many years. And, because it was a land of magic, the faithful Falada was brought back to life to stay with the princess forever.