The Seven Ravens

A man had seven sons and still no little daughter, as much as he wished for it; finally his wife gave him good hope for a child again, and when it was born, it was also a girl. The joy was great, but the child was slender and small, and because of its weakness should have the emergency baptism. The father sent one of the boys hurriedly to the spring to fetch baptismal water: the other six ran along and because everyone wanted to be the first to draw, the jug fell into the well. There they stood and did not know what to do, and none dared to go home. When they still did not come back, the father became impatient and said "surely they have forgotten it again about a game, the godless boys. He was afraid that the girl would have to pass away without being baptized, and in anger he called out "I wanted the boys all to become ravens. No sooner was the word uttered than he heard a whirring in the air above his head, looked up and saw seven coal-black ravens flying up and away.

The parents could not take back the imprecation, and as sad as they were about the loss of their seven sons, they were comforted to some extent by their lovely little daughter, who soon regained her strength and became more beautiful with each passing day. For a long time she did not even know that she had brothers and sisters, for her parents were careful not to mention them, until one day she heard people talking about her, saying that the girl was beautiful, but that she was really to blame for the misfortune of her seven brothers. Then she became very sad, went to her father and mother and asked if she had any brothers and where they had got to. Now the parents could no longer keep the secret, but they said that it was heaven's doom and that his birth was only the innocent cause. Only the girl made a daily conscience out of it and believed she had to redeem her brothers and sisters again. She had no rest until she secretly set out into the wide world to find her brothers somewhere and to free them, at any cost. He took nothing with him but a ring from his parents as a souvenir, a loaf of bread for hunger, a jug of water for thirst, and a small chair for fatigue.