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ArtistA whimsical picture book illustration of a medieval castle gate at dawn. Above the wooden gate, nailed beneath the arch, hangs the severed head of a noble horse with gentle, sorrowful eyes — Falada. Below the gate, a humble young goose girl walks past with a small flock of geese and a boy beside her. She tilts her head slightly toward the horse, as if whispering to him. The scene feels quiet and melancholic, with soft morning light, muted colors, and a sense of hidden truth. The castle looms behind the gate, unaware of the injustice. Style by Anton Pieck × Leo and Diane Dillon, fairytale picture book illustration, detailed, emotional, slightly dark but poetic.
The Goose Girl
A queen, whose husband died long ago, sends her only daughter far away to marry a prince. She gives her a maid, a talking horse named Falada, and, as a travel talisman, a cloth with three drops of her blood. The daughter loses the cloth, however, when she has to bend over a stream because the maid refuses to give her water from the golden cup. The maid even forces the princess to exchange horses and clothes and then makes her swear to tell no one. The princess humbly endures all this. When they arrive at the castle in their switched roles, the prince receives the maid as his bride, and the old king sends the princess off to tend geese with a little boy named Kürdchen. The false bride has the horse Falada's head chopped off, fearing he will betray her, but at the princess's request, the butcher nails the head beneath the gate through which she and Kürdchen walk with the geese every day. There, the princess speaks to the horse's head each time she passes, and it addresses her as "Maiden Queen." In the goose meadow, she undoes her golden hair to braid it anew, and Kürdchen tries to pull out a few strands. But she casts a spell that summons a gust of wind which blows Kürdchen's hat off his head. He has to chase after it, and by the time he returns, she has finished her hair. Kürdchen complains to the king, who secretly observes the two of them the following day and finds everything as Kürdchen has described. In the evening, he takes the princess aside and demands an explanation. But she refuses to speak, citing her oath. The king lets her lament her woes to the stove, secretly overhearing her. The king's son learns the truth. The king lets the false bride speak her own judgment, and she is dragged to her death in a barrel studded with nails. A magnificent wedding is celebrated.
