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O'er hills, dales, and rocks, Away be it whirl'd Till the silvery locks Are all comb'd and curl'd! And soon came a gale of wind, and carried away Curdken's hat, and away went Curdken after it, while the girl went on combing and curling her hair.
Alas! alas! if they mother knew it, Sadly, sadly, would she rue it. Then she drove on the geese, and sat down again in the meadow, and began to comb out her hair as before; and Curdken ran up to her, and wanted to take hold of it; but she cried out quickly: 'Blow, breezes, blow! Let Curdken's hat go! Blow, breezes, blow! Let him after it go!
Then they went out of the city, and drove the geese on. And when she came to the meadow, she sat down upon a bank there, and let down her waving locks of hair, which were all of pure silver; and when Curdken saw it glitter in the sun, he ran up, and would have pulled some of the locks out, but she cried: 'Blow, breezes, blow! Let Curdken's hat go! Blow, breezes, blow! Let him after it go!
In the evening, after they came home, Curdken went to the old king, and said, 'I cannot have that strange girl to help me to keep the geese any longer. 'Why? said the king. 'Because, instead of doing any good, she does nothing but tease me all day long. Then the king made him tell him what had happened.
'I brought her with me for the sake of her company on the road, said she; 'pray give the girl some work to do, that she may not be idle. The old king could not for some time think of any work for her to do; but at last he said, 'I have a lad who takes care of my geese; she may go and help him. Now the name of this lad, that the real bride was to help in watching the king's geese, was Curdken.
And Curdken said, 'When we go in the morning through the dark gate with our flock of geese, she cries and talks with the head of a horse that hangs upon the wall, and says: 'Falada, Falada, there thou hangest! and the head answers: 'Bride, bride, there thou gangest! Alas! alas! if they mother knew it, Sadly, sadly, would she rue it.
And Curdken went on telling the king what had happened upon the meadow where the geese fed; how his hat was blown away; and how he was forced to run after it, and to leave his flock of geese to themselves. But the old king told the boy to go out again the next day: and when morning came, he placed himself behind the dark gate, and heard how she spoke to Falada, and how Falada answered.
Then the slaughterer said he would do as she wished; and cut off the head, and nailed it up under the dark gate. Early the next morning, as she and Curdken went out through the gate, she said sorrowfully: 'Falada, Falada, there thou hangest! and the head answered: 'Bride, bride, there thou gangest! Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it, Sadly, sadly, would she rue it.
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