The Iron Stove
Introduction
We have retold this Brothers Grimm tale, 'The Iron Stove', as a fable. A fable differs from a fairy tale in one important way: when the story ends, it quietly points to a lesson — just as the Chinese tale 'Waiting by the Stump' laughs at laziness, while 'The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountains' honors a will that never turns back. Here the one who frees the bewitched prince is a princess: she keeps her promise, scrapes the iron open with her own hands, and when a moment of carelessness snatches her love away, she searches across hills and lakes until she finds him again. This echoes the old Chinese saying 'a promise weighs more than gold', and the spirit of bending but never breaking: fall nine times, rise the tenth. The lively bits of the old tale — toads that sing spells, nuts that hide royal gowns, a glass mountain and a fence of swords — each become a test in our retelling, testing both loyalty and grit. As you read, ask your child: do the toads truly give the princess three treasures, or is the real gift the fourth one, the will to never give up?
Vocabulary from "The Iron Stove"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
To rub something hard with a sharp edge to remove bits of it.
用利器刮；刮擦。
"Then come back here," said the prince, "and bring a knife to scrape a hole in the iron."
“你回去后带一把刀来，在铁皮上刮出一个洞。”
Disappeared suddenly, as if by magic.
突然消失；不见了。
She told them everything: how she had broken the rule of three words, how the stove and the prince had vanished, and how she meant to search over hill and valley until she found him.
她违了“只说三个字”的规矩，铁炉子和王子转眼不见了；她发誓翻山越岭，也要把他找回来。
Looked quickly through a small opening.
从小孔或缝隙里张望；偷看。
She peeped inside and saw a handsome youth, bright with gold and jewels.
她探头一望，里面是一位俊美的少年，浑身金饰宝石，闪闪发光。
So smooth that it is hard to stand or walk on.
滑的；容易打滑的。
The glass mountain was so slippery that she had to stick the three needles into it, step by step, to climb over.
玻璃山滑得像镜子，她把三根针一根根扎进山里，扎一步，爬一步，终于翻了过去。
A wheel on a plough, a farm tool for turning over soil.
犁轮（犁上装的轮子，犁是翻土的农具）。
Next came three sharp swords, so she sat on her plough-wheel and rolled across them.
三把利剑挡路，她便坐上犁轮，从剑刃上滚了过去。
A small room next to the kitchen where dishes are washed.
洗碗间；厨房里洗刷碗碟的小房间。
They hired her as a scullery maid for little pay.
管家收她做了洗碗女佣，工钱微薄。
The soft part inside a nut that you can eat.
果仁；坚果里面可食用的部分。
She cracked one open to eat the kernel — and inside lay a fine royal gown.
她咬开一颗，正要吃果仁——里面竟躺着一件华贵的礼服。
A long, beautiful dress, often worn by royalty.
长礼服；华美的长裙。
When the bride heard of the gown, she came at once to buy it.
新娘听说了这件礼服，赶来要买。
Cried with tears.
哭泣；流泪。
The princess wept when she heard this, but a promise is a promise.
公主听了这话，泪流满面，可事到如今，只能守信。
Firm and hard, not easy to bend.
硬挺的；不易弯曲的。
On the third evening, she opened the last nut, and inside lay a dress stiff with pure gold, lovelier than all the rest.
第三天傍晚，公主咬开第三颗坚果，里面是一件纯金做的礼服，硬挺挺、亮闪闪，比前两件更动人。
Careful and alert, watching for danger or tricks.
警觉的；留神的。
This time the prince was watchful, and he poured the sleeping drug away.
这一回，王子多了个心眼，悄悄把安眠药倒掉了。
The broken parts of a fallen building or kingdom.
废墟；倒塌破败的景象。
If she does not come, the whole kingdom will fall in ruins, and no stone will stay upon another.
她若不来，整个王国就要化为废墟，一块石头也不许留在另一块上面。
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
A promise weighs more than gold, and a moment of carelessness must be repaid with patient courage. Those whose hearts stay true will win back the happiness they lost.
Educational Value
Shows children the virtues of keeping one's word and never giving up: a trial we overcome ourselves is worth more than a rescue we wait for. It also teaches that one mistake is not the end — as long as we keep trying, we can still make things right.
Tips for Parents
After reading, ask your child why a few extra words cost the princess her prince, and why she still dared a third night after failing twice. Introduce phrases like 'keep one's word' and 'never give up', and look together for the moments where the princess shows them.
Talk About It
- The princess loses the prince just by saying a few extra words. Is that rule fair? Could you have stopped at three words?
- The miller's daughter and the swineherd's daughter scrape the stove in vain, but the princess succeeds. Why do you think that is?
- The toads give her three needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts. Which really carries her through — the magic gifts, or her own will?
- For two nights the prince cannot hear her. After failing twice, why does she try a third time? Would you?
- When he is drugged, the prince cannot hear her, but on the third night he knows her at once. What makes him recognize her?
