The tale was first published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, vol.

She threatens to kill the princess if she doesn't swear never to say a word about this reversal of roles to any living being.

The real princess hears of this and begs the slaughterer to nail Falada's head above the doorway where she passes with her geese every morning.

On the goose meadow, Conrad watches the princess comb her beautiful hair and he becomes greedy to pluck one or two of her golden locks.

And so the wind takes his hat away, and he cannot return before the goose girl has finished brushing and plaiting her hair.

Meanwhile, Conrad goes to the king and declares he will not herd geese with this girl any longer because of the strange things that happen.

As the king is convinced she has told the truth, he has the goose girl clad in royal clothes.

The story uses the false bride plot with a good-hearted princess being seized by her maid and turned into a common goose girl.

[2] These motifs are also found, centered on a male character, in The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward[3] (Child ballad 271) and the chivalric romance Roswall and Lillian.

[5] Despite the story being viewed as obscure, there have been many film versions, from countries ranging from Germany to even America.

While the Queen is implied to have died in the original story, many versions also have her survive to expose the false bride at the wedding.