Once upon a time, a woman who was reasonably attractive on the outside but not on the inside married a man with a pretty little son. She soon grew jealous of the boy’s fair complexion and fantastic hair, and began to worry that her own little daughter would stand no chance of garnering attention at family gatherings. She made it her mission, therefore, to make certain that it would be her own daughter, and not her pretty stepson, who one day inherited her husband’s collection of fishing rods autographed by various neighbors.
She found herself angry at the boy for no reason at all most of the time, and often had to remind herself that she couldn’t give him extra chores or take away his dinner for no reason at all. When her husband was around, anyway.
But one day, as she stood in the kitchen with a frying pan in her hand, the little boy walked by, his perfect hair standing up as if by its own accord, and she became so angry she hit him on the back of his head.
He instantly fell down dead.
Not knowing what else to do, she propped him up in a chair by the television and put sunglasses over his eyes.
However, later, her little daughter, who got on quite well with the boy, complained that he was being weird and wouldn’t play. Her mother told her to give him a push, and the girl returned only moments later, crying that she had killed her own poor brother.
Jumping immediately into action, she instructed her daughter to bury the boy outside and assured her she would make up a story to tell the boy’s father. But even after the grave was dug and covered, and even after the boy’s father was thoroughly convinced that his son had left his family to sell soap animals door to door, the little girl still cried about her brother.
After dinner, she went out to the tree he was buried underneath, and left her favorite doll on his grave.
As she watched, her brother emerged from the ground, prettier than ever and looking very pleased with himself. When he smiled, two sharp fangs stuck out from his mouth. He thanked his sister, and went off into the night in search of fine young ladies to court.
He rescued one young lady from a terrible rainstorm, but after he’d delivered ongoing professions of eternal love and devotion, she gave him the beautiful earrings she was wearing, if only he would go away.
He watched one young woman sleep in her room, and when she awoke, promised to be with her for the rest of her life, but she offered him an antique vase sitting on her dresser if he would promise never to watch her sleep again.
He romanced one young woman at the edge of a cliff, promising her she’d never have to walk or drive anywhere again, and she gave him her best fishing rod so that he would kindly walk away from her.
So he returned home, with gifts in hand, but he looked so otherwordly and eerie that his father refused to let him in, even after he presented him with the fishing rod. Luckily, his sister still loved him quite a lot, and she invited him in immediately, thanking him for the earrings and the vase.
Once he was inside the house, he killed his stepmother and drank her blood.
The End.
Source: The Juniper Tree, Brothers Grimm
