Reading "III" - A Narrative Text

Clever Alice

Once upon a time there was a rich man who had a daughter, who was called “Clever Alice”. When she was grown up, her father said, “We must see about her marrying.” “Yes,” replied her mother, “whenever a young man shall appear who is worthy of her.”

One day, an honest youth, by name Hans, came from a distance to make a proposal of marriage but he required one condition, that the Clever Alice should be very prudent. “Oh,” said her father, “no fear of that! She has got a head full of brains;” and the mother added, “Ah, she can see the wind blow up the street, and hear the flies cough!” “Very well,” replied Hans; “but remember, if she is not very prudent, I will not take her.” Soon afterwards they sat down to dinner in the dinning room, and her mother said, “Alice, go down into the cellar and draw some beer.”

Clever Alice took the jug and went into the cellar. As soon as she got downstairs, she drew a stool and placed it before the cask, in order that she might not have to stoop, for she thought stooping might in some way injure her back, and give it an undesirable bend. Then she placed the can before her and turned the tap, and while the beer was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be idle, she looked about upon the wall above and below. Presently she perceived, after much peeping into this corner and that corner, a hatchet sticking out of the ceiling right above her head. At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry, saying, “Oh! if I marry Hans, and we have a cute child, and he grows up, and we send him into the cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his head and kill him;” and so she sat there weeping with all her might over the impending misfortune.

Clever Alice did not come, her mother told the maid to see Alice. The maid went down and found Alice crying heartily. She sat beside Alice.  

Upstairs they were still waiting but the maid didn’t return, and Alice’s father asked his wife to see why Alice stays so long. At the cellar, she asked, “Alice, what are you weeping about?”. Alice told her about the prediction of her child after marrying with Hans in which the hatchet may inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then she likewise exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and, sitting down, began to weep as much as any of the rest for the misfortune.

Alice’s father felt so thirsty so that he went to the cellar. When he heard the reason, he also exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and sat down to cry with the whole strength of his lungs.

Nobody returned, Hans went down to see what the matter. When he entered, “What misfortune has happened?” he asked. “Ah, dear Hans!” cried Alice, “if you and I should marry one another, and have a child, and he grow up, and we, perhaps, send him down to this cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which has been left sticking up there may fall on his head, and so kill him: and do you not think this is enough to weep about?” “Now,” said Hans, “more prudence than this is not necessary for my housekeeping; because you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for my wife.” Then they celebrated the wedding a month later.

One morning Hans went to work and Alice went into the field to gather some corn wherewith to make bread. She brought a nice mess of pottage that she cooked, and then she said to herself, “What shall I do? Shall I cut first, or eat first? I will eat first!” Then she ate up the contents of her pot, and when it was finished, she thought to herself, “Now, shall I reap first or sleep first? Well, I think I will have a nap!” and so she laid herself down amongst the corn, and went to sleep.

Hans returned home, but Alice did not come, and so he said, “Oh, what a prudent Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does not even come home to eat anything.” By-and-by, however, evening came on, and still she did not return; so Hans went out to see how much she had reaped; but, behold, nothing at all, and there lay Alice fast asleep among the corn! He ran very fast to his house, and then he went back to the field and brought a net with little bells hanging on it, which he threw over her head while she still slept on. When he had done this, he went back again and shut to the house-door, and, seating himself on his stool, began working very industriously.

It was nearly dark, the Clever Alice awoke, and as soon as she stood up, the net fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at every step she took. This ridiculousness frightened her, she began to doubt whether she was really Clever Alice or not, and said to herself, “Am I she, or am I not?”; this was a question she could not answer, then she stood still a long while considering about it. At last she thought she would go home and ask whether she were really herself—supposing somebody would be able to tell her. When she came to the house-door it was shut; so she tapped at the window, and asked, “Hans, is Alice within?”. “Yes,” he replied, “she is.” At which answer she became really terrified, and exclaiming, “Ah, heaven, then I am not Alice!”. She ran up to another house, intending to ask the same question. But as soon as the folks within heard the jingling of the bells in her net, they refused to open their doors, and nobody would receive her. After that she ran straight away from the village, and no one has ever seen her since.