I was walking in the forest with Joringel when he said, “Take care not to go too close to the enchanted castle.”

I think perhaps we had already come too close, for though the evening sun shone brightly between the tree trunks, the dark green forest and the turtledoves’ mournful cooing had made my heart heavy. I was overcome with sadness, and Joringel felt it too. We burst into tears and wept as if we both knew we were about to die.

The sun sank below the mountain, and we realized that we were lost, and not only that. We were standing right up against the wall of the old castle.

I began to sing in a voice that wasn’t my own …

My little bird, with the necklace red

Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow

He sings that the dove will soon be dead

Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow …

The next thing I knew, I was a bird, sitting on the branch of a tree above Joringel, who stood frozen as if he’d been turned to stone.

Jorinda in Jorinda and Joringel, Grimm. Illustration by Arthur Rackham.