Childrens Classics PDF EPUB

The King of the Golden River

Or, The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria

by John Ruskin

Downloads: Under 100
First published: 1842
Pages: 55

Read online EPUB Download Save

About this book

High among the mountains of Stiria, a waterfall catches the evening light and seems to pour gold. Nearby lies Treasure Valley, a fertile farm owned by three brothers. Hans and Schwartz grow rich by charging desperate neighbours high prices and treating their workers harshly. Their youngest brother, Gluck, is kind to living things and wishes that the family's food could be shared. An oddly dressed visitor arrives at the door while Gluck tends the roast.

John Ruskin's fairy tale brings its mountain scenery into a contest between greed and generosity. The King of the Golden River offers a chance to turn the stream into gold, with strict conditions involving holy water. Hans sets out to claim the reward, carrying provisions and a flask. Vivid descriptions of rain, crops and snowy peaks give the moral fable a physical setting, while the brothers' contrasting tempers make it useful reading for discussions of fairness and kindness.

About the author

John Ruskin

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era and an influential social thinker whose ideas on art, labor, and society shaped movements from the Pre-Raphaelites to the welfare state.