The Seven Crows
Many, many years ago, in a castle on top of a steep hill, there lived a nobleman and his wife. They had seven fine, strong sons, and the lord and his wife were very proud of their family, but both of them wished that one day they would be blessed with a daughter.
That Summer, their wish was granted and a little girl was born, but the lord and his lady were not happy, for the child was pale and weak, and they were afraid that she might die before the night had passed. The nobleman called his seven sons before him and asked them to ride as fast as they could to the nearest doctor. Off went the seven sons in search of a doctor, galloping as fast as they could.
One hour, two hours, three hours passed by without any sign of the seven boys returning. The nobleman paced up and down the room, muttering to himself and wondering where his sons had gone to. At last, his patience exhausted, he exclaimed, “May those worthless and idle sons of mine be changed into black crows. They have kept me waiting long enough!”
No sooner had he spoken than the air was filled with the sound of beating wings, and rushing to a window, the lord saw seven black crows fly over the castle and disappear. The nobleman realized that it was his seven sons who had flown over the castle. From that moment on, he could never forgive himself for having put such a curse on his beloved sons. As for the baby, she surprised everybody by growing up into a healthy and beautiful girl, but she knew nothing of the fate that had befallen her brothers, for the nobleman forbade everybody to talk about that terrible night.
On the little girl’s eleventh birthday, she visited a neighbor’s castle, and there an old woman, who worked in the kitchens, told her what had happened to her brothers and how they had changed into black crows and flown away. The little girl had not realized that she had seven brothers. “It was my fault that my brothers were changed into crows, so it is up to me to find them,” she thought to herself.
She rushed back to her parents and told them that she must go in search of her brothers, and when they saw how determined she was, they sadly agreed to let her go.
Early the next morning, she left the castle and started the long search for her brothers. Over mountains and streams she traveled, through thick forests and across wide, flat plains, but not once did she see seven crows. One day, when she was almost on the point of giving up her search, she noticed a trap on the ground. Caught inside the trap was a black crow. “Perhaps it is one of my brothers,” she thought as she struggled to open the trap. At last, the bird was free, and as it flew out of the trap, there was a flash of light, and standing before the little girl was not a bird, but a beautiful fairy.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” said the fairy. “As a reward for your kindness, I will tell you where your brothers are. Listen very carefully. In a castle on top of a mountain, not very far from here, lives a wicked wizard. He was the one who changed your brothers into crows, for he wished to make your parents unhappy, and he keeps the crows locked up inside the castle. Guarding the castle are knights in armor, and they will stop anyone trying to enter.”
The little girl thought it was impossible to rescue her brothers and she sat down and began to cry, but the fairy princess said, “Do not cry, for here I have a magic crow’s feather which will open the castle doors and also make the guards go to sleep if you touch them with it.”
“Thank you very much,” said the little girl, and she hurried away to the castle on the mountain. It was hard to scramble up the steep side of the mountain, but at last, she reached the castle door and slipped the feather into the keyhole. Sure enough, the door opened, and she walked in.
As quietly as she could, she crept up behind a guard and touched him with the feather, and almost immediately he fell asleep. The little girl wandered on through the castle until she came to a great hall, and in the middle was a long table set for seven people and laden with food.
“This must be where my seven brothers eat,” thought the little girl. “I will wait here until they come in to dinner and then I can surprise them.”
She sat down in one of the chairs and, feeling a little hungry, she ate some of the food. After her long and tiring search, the little girl felt very tired, and soon she had nodded off to sleep in the chair.
Suddenly she was awakened by the sound of beating wings, and raising her head she saw seven black crows come flying into the hall, past the sleeping guard. Cawing and flapping their wings, the seven crows settled down at the table.
The little girl jumped from her seat and rushed around the table, touching each crow in turn with the magic feather and breaking the spell.
Her brothers did not recognize the little girl at first, and it was not until she explained who she was that they realized she was their long-lost sister come to rescue them.
“We must hurry away from here,” said one of the brothers, “for the wicked wizard is due at any moment.” Out of the castle they rushed, past all the sleeping guards, and slipping and sliding, they ran down the mountain.
Then, laughing and dancing, all eight children took the path that led home. What a surprise the nobleman and his wife had when they opened the castle door. All their eight children had returned safely home. The party held in their honor went on for days and days, and everyone agreed that the story of the seven crows was one of the strangest things they had heard of for a long, long time.