Grundtvig, S., Unpublished Collection. (By the Baroness Jeanina Stampe, Praesto, Zealand.)
"DEN LILLE RODE KALV"
(The Little Red Calf).
ABSTRACT
Ill-treated heroine (by step-mother)--Menial heroine (tends cattle) --Helpful animal (red calf) Ear cornucopia (green leaf behind ear produces food)--Heroine watched; shut up; escapes--Heroine flight on red calf through [copper], silver, gold forests. Calf fights and twice overcomes another calf because heroine is silent; third time half is killed because heroine speaks. Heroine lays green leaf on stone outside palace as instructed by calf-- Menial heroine (kitchen maid)--Magic dresses from stone--Meeting-place--King throws water, towel, comb at heroine-- Token objects named--Lost shoe (it is stolen by king's order).--Shoe marriage-test-- Happy marriage.
TABULATION
(1) Heroine tends cattle, but gets only mouldy bread and dirty water to eat and drink. Little red calf shows her green leaf behind its ear, holding which she may wish for any food she likes and will get it.-- (2) Step-mother discovers this, and shuts up heroine, who succeeds in making her escape, and rides on red calf through [copper], silver and gold forests.-- (3) In the first two forests calf overcomes another calf taller than itself, because heroine is silent. But in third forest calf is killed, because she speaks to it. Knowing what will happen, calf has given her the green leaf, and has bidden her lay it on a stone outside palace. She now does so, and gets situation as kitchen-maid.-- (4) Cook goes to church, leaving heroine at home. King orders water to wash in; dirty as she is, heroine hastens to carry him the tub, and he throws it downstairs all over her. King goes to church, and heroine to the stone, and wishes for a beautiful dress and a coach and four. She drives to church, and king inquires who she is. Heroine answers, "A princess from the Land of Throw-Water."-- (5) The same happens on a second and on a third Sunday; only that the king throws first day a towel, second day a comb at her, so that she says she comes "from the Land of Throw-Towel", and "from the Land of Throw-Comb".-- (6) King orders servant to steal one of her shoes, and then wants to marry whatever girl it will fit. But the shoe fits nobody except the kitchen-maid, who thereupon becomes queen.
