This is one of the amazing grimm brothers stories. Simpleton was the youngest of the King’s three boys. After the old two left in search of adventure, Simpleton went to his father and asked if he could follow after him. The King said, “But Simpleton, what if you’re unable to find them? How’ll you take care of yourself?” Simpleton replied, “Don’t worry father, I assure you I’ll be just fine!” Hesitating, the King saw how much Simpleton wanted to go, so he gave his permission and said goodbye. Read more about The Queen Bee.
After several days, Simpleton caught up to his brothers. They made fun of him. “Ha! Ha! So you think someone as simple-minded as you can actually take care of himself in the big bad world?” laughed the oldest. Simpleton ignored him and tagged along with them anyway. Soon, they came upon a hill.
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As the middle brother attempted to stomp on the hill and kill all the ants, Simpleton stopped him. “Leave them be!” he said, urging his brothers to move on and not disturb the hard-working ants. When they stopped to rest by a lake, the older brothers decided to catch some ducks to cook for dinner. “No!” Simpleton shouted, freeing a duck from his brother’s clutch. “There is no need to kill such peaceful creatures. I’ll make us a meal from the nuts and berries in the woods.”
As they went in pursuit of nuts and berries, the three of them spotted a large bee hive. Honey dripped out of the hive as bees flew to and fro. “We’ll make a fire and drive the bees from their nest,” one of the brothers said. “Excellent idea! Then we’ll have plenty of honey to eat,” the second brother agreed. Once again, Simpleton stopped them from harming the creatures. A bee buzzed past his face and Simpleton smiled. Also read, King Thrushbeard.
Finally, after a long day’s walk, the King’s son arrived at a castle. Everything there seemed to be made of stone, including the horses in the stable. “This is strange,” the oldest brother said. This time Simpleton had to agree. As they walked through the castle, they came upon a door with three doors. There was a tiny window in the door and when they peered through it, they spotted a little gray man sitting alone in the corner. They called out to him twice, but he didn’t seem to hear them.
“Hello in there,” they said for the third time, and the little gray man looked up. Seeing them, he hurried to the door and opened the three locks. Without saying a word, he led the brothers to the dining room where they had their fill of delicious foods and drinks. As the castle grew dark, the little gray man led each of the brothers to their own bedroom where they settled in for the night. You may also like to read, The Three Little Men In The Wood.
The next morning, the little gray man woke the eldest brother and gave him a list of three tasks to be done in order to break the curse on the castle. The first task was for the brother to go into the forest and pick up the princess’s pearls. “Each of the thousand pearls must be brought back to the castle,” the note read. “If you fail, you’ll be turned into stone.” The oldest brother rushed into the forest and started collecting pearls. By the end of the day, he only had one hundred of them and as the moon rose, he turned into stone just s the note predicted.
The next morning, the little gray man sent the middle brother on the quest for the pearls. He, too, failed with only two hundred pearls in his bag, the middle brother turned into stone as well.
Finally, on the third morning, Simpleton was sent into the forest to gather the pearls. He saw his brothers, who were just like statues and he sat down on a rock and wept. “I’ll never find the rest of the pearls. I’m just a simple man. There’s no use even trying,” he cried. Also read, The Ora Woman In The Woods.
Just then, the army of ants he’d saved a few days earlier marched by. Each one held a pearl on its back and delivered back to Simpleton. “Thank you!” he said, scooping the pearls into his bag and hurrying off to the castle. The note gave further instruction for the second task. “Bring the key to the King’s daughters’ bedroom. The key is at the bottom of the lake.” Without having to ask, one of the ducks he’d saved dove underwater and came back up with the key in its bill.
The note gave further instruction for the second task. “Bring the key to the King’s daughters’ bedroom. The key is at the bottom of the lake.” Without having to ask, one of the ducks he’d saved dove underwater and came back up with the key in its bill. “Thank you!” Simpleton shouted, dashing back to the castle with the key in his hand.
There, he was given the third and the most difficult task. “Go into the bedroom where the King’s daughters’ are sleeping and find the youngest of the three.” “This will be easy,” Simpleton thought, but then he looked at the three young women sleeping on their beds. “They look identical,” he moaned. The only difference in the three was what each ate for their last meal. You may also like, The Goose Girl.
The only difference in the three was what each ate for their last meal. The eldest had some sugar. The middle daughter had some maple syrup. The youngest daughter had a spoonful of sweet honey. “Don’t despair! I know which one ate the honey,” Queen Bee said, as she buzzed by. Landing on the lips of the youngest daughter, Queen Bee led Simpleton to the answer he was looking for. All at once, everything in the Kingdom was awakened from the curse.
Months later, Simpleton married the sweet, young princess and later on to become the King of the land. Simpleton forgave his brothers and through his forgiveness, their hearts were filled with goodness. No longer stone statues, they married the other sisters. They all lived together in the Kingdom where the ants, ducks, bees, and all the other creatures were left alone to live in peace. Simpleton never forgot their kindness and they never forget his.
Here is a visual depiction of one of the lovely grimm brothers stories, “The Queen Bee Story”. See the video story below,