Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen (1979)

At a well, Hans, the son of a blacksmith, meets an old woman and carries bundles of firewood to her cottage. The old woman has magical powers; she had already seen Hans arriving in the well. Hans, meanwhile, is unable to put the loads down. When they reach the cottage, he meets the old woman’s unattractive daughter, who works as a goose girl. The old woman asks Hans to sleep. The next morning, he is to tell her what he would like as a reward for his service. That night, Hans dreams of Princess Marie, who receives many precious gifts for her seventh birthday, including jewel-encrusted brushes, an order, and valuable sculptures. Her godmother, the fairy Allmuthe, gives Marie the gift of weeping pearls whenever she is sad. Marie, however, is happiest that day with the gifts from her friends, who are commoners. Her father, King Albrecht the Radiant, has these gifts taken away from her and announces that he will raise his daughter more strictly from then on. Hans wakes up, but cannot draw any lessons from the dream. He wishes for power and therefore asks the old woman for a horse, a sword, and armor. He arrives at the castle of the knight Gisbert von Hartenfels, who has just died. His two sons are fighting with swords over the inheritance, and Hans manages to end the fight by intervening. When the victor, Günther, learns that a blacksmith’s son helped him, he has Hans thrown into the dungeon. Hans realizes that his wishes to the old woman were foolish. He escapes from the dungeon and returns to her. Once again, he is to sleep, and the next day he may make a wish. He dreams of Princess Marie’s twelfth birthday, when her poor friends give her a fir tree. She dances around it with the children, but her father has it uprooted. Allmuthe appears and announces that, because of the king’s heartlessness, she will avoid the castle from then on. Only Marie will remain under her protection. When Hans wakes, he wishes for a merchant’s wagon. Since he is not suited to power, he now wants to acquire wealth, but after traveling only a short distance, he is attacked and robbed by three thieves. He returns to the old woman penniless. She lets him sleep once more and offers him one final wish. Hans dreams of Princess Marie’s fifteenth birthday. She and her sisters are to tell the king how much they love their father. While Helene and Elisabeth praise the king by speaking of the sweets and clothes they love, Marie cannot think of anything to say. In the end, she says she loves him as she loves salt, because without salt no food tastes good. The king grows angry and disowns her. At the castle gate, one of her poor friends takes from her the sack of salt she has to carry as punishment. The other two girls leave with her, walking between them. Hans wakes and now wishes for nothing more than to find Marie and help her. The old woman tells Hans: “Whoever knows how to interpret the dreams of the night learns much about the truth of the day.” She gives him a little emerald box to take with him. Hans finds Marie’s castle, where no celebrations have been held for a long time. The king and queen find a pearl that Marie has wept inside the emerald box. They offer Hans wealth and power if he can find the princess, but he refuses their gifts, for he would never bring Marie back to an inhuman father. To find his way back to the old woman, Hans goes to the well in the forest, where he suddenly sees the old woman’s daughter. Before his eyes, she transforms into Princess Marie, but flees when she hears Hans. He returns to the old woman’s house and confesses that he loves Marie. The old woman, who is in fact the fairy Allmuthe, finally gives in, and Marie appears in her true form. Allmuthe leaves, since Marie no longer needs her. Allmuthe says: “The wisdom of dreams had to become action in reality.” It is Marie’s eighteenth birthday, and her friends from among the common people arrive to give her presents.