Cinderella #268 Zoo Geren as Zout (As Much As Salt)
Are you hungry enough to eat a pigeon — without salt? |
Once upon a time, in Germany, there lived "a King, who asked his three daughters how glad they are to see him." The oldest said, "As glad as the sun." The second answered, "I like you as the light of my eyes." It was the youngest who replied that she liked him as much as salt. At that, the King said that she ought "to be ashamed of herself for not liking him better than salt, which is nearly valueless."Then he throws her out of the house. She goes away for a time, and makes a plan. She decides that when festival time comes, she will trick her father and teach him a lesson. So when the festival is under way, she dresses up as a page and goes to the castle. There she creeps into the kitchen, and greets her old friend, Cook. Sharing her plan with the kind old lady goes exactly as planned, and, when the King is served his supper that night he gets a surprise. The festival celebration means that the very best of everything is on display, and his majesty has expected that the food will be spectacular. Instead, "all the dishes — soup, meat, venison — are so unappetizing that he refuses them all. He calls for Cook, who comes in shaking with fear. That's when the page jumps up and says to the King, "It was by my order, your majesty, that no salt was put in the dishes.." Now the King demands to know just who this insolent page is. That is when she pulls off her disguise, and the King realizes that it is his youngest child. He must choose between admitting that he has made a mistake,( in which case the Cook will salt his meat) and forgiving his daughter, or insisting still that salt has no value, (in which case he must eat a tasteless meal). He wisely forgives his daughter. The food is salted, and they live happily after that.
From Cox, M. R. (1893/2011) p. 416
Notes: This story shows a sweet variant (I think so, anyway) in which there is no prince or romantic love. The girl wants only the love of her father,and when she gets this back, it is enough to make her live happily ever after.