In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Goose Girl,” the princess’s talking horse is named Falada.
Falada belongs to the princess before she travels to marry a prince in a distant kingdom. During the journey, the princess’s maid forces her to exchange identities with her mistress. The disguised princess becomes a goose girl, while the maid takes her place at court.
After the exchange, the false bride orders Falada to be killed because the horse could reveal the deception. Before his death, Falada speaks and exposes the maid’s betrayal. The king has Falada’s head mounted beneath a city gate, where the goose girl later passes and hears the horse address her.
The tale is often confused with later adaptations that alter the horse’s role or omit him entirely. “The Goose Girl” was included by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in their collection, and Falada’s speaking head is one of the story’s most distinctive details.