Oct 7, 2026 · 36 min · 15 segments
Adam Gidwitz shares an early version of a brand-new, Grimm-inspired tale and invites listeners to help shape it. Adam and Jonah Dragan bring you magical adaptation of this Norse folktale. A king and…
Adam GidwitzHostJonah DraganGuest
The royal couple were always very kind to the little ones they met around the kingdom, especially the daughters and sons of their castle servants.
These rascals were always playing underfoot, climbing the throne, sliding down staircases, bouncing on the royal feather beds.
Now, one day, the queen saw one of these castle children playing with a peasant's daughter that she had let in from the streets.
They even sneaked into the royal bedchamber and began playing with a solid gold apple the queen kept in a secret wooden chest.
"Who is this filthy ragamuffin you've welcomed into my house? She will have to go back to whatever pigsty she crawled out of." The little urchin girl looked up at the queen with her hands on her hips.
"Gladly, Your Majesty," she said, "but if you knew what my mother could do, you wouldn't be so rude to me.
No, I don't think you would." "What? What can your mother do? Scrub dirty floors, wash wool, cook lumpy gruel?" "She keeps chickens and sells eggs, thank you very much, but she can also help people, people who have no children." Well, you can imagine how quickly the girl's mother was summoned to the castle.
The eggwife, that's a woman who takes care of chickens and eggs, also just a great word, eggwife.
The eggwife came in wearing her best patched dress and sat down on the queen's upholstered chairs.
"No, Your Majesty." "Your daughter says you can help me have children of my own." "My daughter," growled the eggwife, "likes to make up stories, and perhaps she wants a spanking when she gets home." The queen thought for a moment, then she said, "It's a little cold in here, isn't it? Why don't we have a little mead?" After a few cups of rich, honeyed wine, that's mead, the queen asked again.
Wash yourself in two pails of water tonight." "Wash myself in what?" "Two pails of water.
What else would you wash in?" "Um, scented oils and lotions, perhaps." "Well, tonight it's two pails of water.
Tomorrow morning, you'll have two flowers growing under there, one beautiful and one ugly.
Take the beautiful flower and eat it." "Eat a flower?" The queen wrinkled her brow.
The royal couple were always very kind to the little ones they met around the kingdom, especially the daughters and sons of their castle servants.
These rascals were always playing underfoot, climbing the throne, sliding down staircases, bouncing on the royal feather beds.
Now, one day, the queen saw one of these castle children playing with a peasant's daughter that she had let in from the streets.
They even sneaked into the royal bedchamber and began playing with a solid gold apple the queen kept in a secret wooden chest.
"Who is this filthy ragamuffin you've welcomed into my house? She will have to go back to whatever pigsty she crawled out of." The little urchin girl looked up at the queen with her hands on her hips.
"Gladly, Your Majesty," she said, "but if you knew what my mother could do, you wouldn't be so rude to me.
No, I don't think you would." "What? What can your mother do? Scrub dirty floors, wash wool, cook lumpy gruel?" "She keeps chickens and sells eggs, thank you very much, but she can also help people, people who have no children." Well, you can imagine how quickly the girl's mother was summoned to the castle.
The eggwife, that's a woman who takes care of chickens and eggs, also just a great word, eggwife.
The eggwife came in wearing her best patched dress and sat down on the queen's upholstered chairs.
"No, Your Majesty." "Your daughter says you can help me have children of my own." "My daughter," growled the eggwife, "likes to make up stories, and perhaps she wants a spanking when she gets home." The queen thought for a moment, then she said, "It's a little cold in here, isn't it? Why don't we have a little mead?" After a few cups of rich, honeyed wine, that's mead, the queen asked again.
Wash yourself in two pails of water tonight." "Wash myself in what?" "Two pails of water.
What else would you wash in?" "Um, scented oils and lotions, perhaps." "Well, tonight it's two pails of water.
Tomorrow morning, you'll have two flowers growing under there, one beautiful and one ugly.
Take the beautiful flower and eat it." "Eat a flower?" The queen wrinkled her brow.
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