Once upon a time an old castle stood in the middle of a dense forest, and in the castle there lived an old fairy. By day she made herself into a cat or an owl, frightening all the forest creatures. At night, when the moon rose into the sky, she turned into an old fairy again.
Everyone knew about the old fairy. People told the tales of her terrible spells. When any youth came within 100 steps of the castle, the people said, he was frozen to the spot and could not move a step until the fairy set him free. And whenever a young maiden came close, she was turned into a nightingale or some other songbird. The fairy kept each bird in a golden cage. These she hung inside the castle. She had cast her spell for so many years that she had trapped more than 700 maidens.In a tiny village not far from the castle there lived a beautiful young girl named Jorinda. A young shepherd named Joringel loved her. One day the two young people went for a walk together in the woods so that they might be alone together.
"We must be careful not to walk too close to the castle," Joringel warned his beloved. But the evening was so pleasant that the two young people wandered on, deeper and deeper into the woods.
As the day grew late, they stood entranced by the beauty of the light shining through the branches of the trees. The undergrowth was lush and vibrant green. The honeybees and butterflies buzzed and fluttered around them. The turtledoves cooed from the highest branches of the trees.
Jorinda sat down on the grass to gaze at the fading sunlight. Joringel sat beside her. They both began to feel sad, but they did not know why. It seemed as if, somehow, this beauty might not last. When at last the air grew cool, they stood to turn back home. But now they realized they were lost. They could not find the path in the dense undergrowth all around them.
The sun was beginning to set, and the world was bathed in a golden glow, but when Joringel looked behind him he saw that the castle seemed much nearer. He trembled with fear at the sight, but then he smiled. He heard his beloved Jorinda singing a beautiful song. He turned to smile at her and to his astonishment saw that Jorinda had become a nightingale. She finished her song with a sorrowful whistle.
Joringel tried to reach for her, but when he did he found that he could not move at all. Now the sun set quickly. The gloomy night settled around them. The old fairy came out of her castle. She was hideous to look at, with a nose and chin that met in the middle of her face, bulging orange eyes and a terrifying cackle.
When she reached the nightingale, she muttered something to herself and caught the bird. Then she turned and shuffled back to the castle. Poor Joringel could do nothing. Not only was he frozen to the spot, but he could not speak.
Later, after all the forest creatures had settled down for the night, the old fairy returned and sang to Joringel in a throaty voice:
"My prisoner is held fast. Her doom is cast.
"The charm is all around her. My spell has bound her."
The moment she finished her song, Joringel found he was free. He fell to his knees and begged the fairy to return his beloved Jorinda, but she just shook her head and went away.
Filled with fear and sadness, poor Jor-in-gel spent the night in the forest. In the morning he rose and walked to the village.
Time passed, and Joringel continued to work as a shepherd. But every evening he walked close to the castle. He went as near as he dared, but he knew if he came too close, he would once again be frozen.
One night Joringel fell asleep and dreamed he had found a beautiful purple flower. In its center was a bright white pearl. In his dream he plucked the flower and took it to the castle. Everything the flower touched became free of any spell. He touched Jorinda with the flower, and she was freed.
When he woke, he decided he must search for the flower. He searched for eight long days but found only clover and daisies, roses and lilies and hyacinths. On the morning of the ninth day, he came to a field and saw, to his joy and wonder, a beautiful purple flower with a dewdrop like a pearl in its center.
He plucked the flower, and then set out for the castle. He traveled the whole day beneath the bright summer sun. Just as the sun began to set, he came to the castle. He walked as close as he dared, and then closer still. This time he did not become frozen.
Joringel ran joyfully to the castle gate. He touched the flower to the gate and sighed with relief when the gate sprang open.
Once inside, he quickly crossed the courtyard. As he moved, he listened to the melancholy sounds of the hundreds of singing nightingales and songbirds. He came to a door. At the touch of the flower, the door opened.
Joringel walked into a huge stone chamber. There, with her back toward him, sat the fairy surrounded by golden cages. In each cage sat a songbird singing her sad song. Joringel tiptoed closer, looking carefully at each of the beautiful birds.
When the old fairy turned and spotted Joringel, she spat at him and cursed him. But Joringel held the flower forward, and the old fairy shrank away. She had no power over him as long as he held the flower.
He ran past the old fairy and searched the cages for his beloved Jorinda. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the fairy sneaking away with a cage. He sprang after her and touched the flower to the cage. At once the cage disappeared as Jorinda turned into her old shape and threw her arms around Joringel's neck. He stared in wonder, for she seemed more beautiful to him than ever.
The old fairy ran away, never to be seen again. Hand in hand, Jorinda and Joringel ran through the castle, touching each cage with the flower. Before long, they had freed every one of the maidens.
Joringel and Jorinda walked out of the castle and returned to their village. Forever after they lived happily together, and always cherished the flowers that grew in abundance around them.