The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (21 page)

After the maiden had her first meeting with him and talked with him, she gave him a pair of handsome gloves as a gift. They were made out of soft Spanish leather. The fool put them on and started out for home. Suddenly there was a rainstorm, and he kept the gloves on. He didn't care whether they became wet or not. As he was walking along the path, he slipped and fell into the swampy water. When he arrived home, he was covered with mud, and the gloves were nothing but soggy leather. He complained to his mother, and the good old woman scolded him and said, “The next time you should wrap them in a handkerchief and stuff them inside your shirt next to your chest.”

Soon thereafter the numbskull showed up again at the maiden's house, and she asked him about the gloves. He told her what had happened, and she laughed and quickly grasped how little wisdom he possessed. Now she gave him another present, and this time it was a hawk. He took it, headed for home, and remembered his mother's words of advice. So he strangled the hawk, wrapped it in his handkerchief, and stuck it inside his shirt. His mother scolded him again and told him he should have carried it carefully in his hand.

The yokel went to the maiden a third time, and she asked him how things were going with the hawk. So he told her what had happened, and she thought to herself, “He's truly a living fool,” and realized that he didn't deserve anything precious or splendid. Therefore, she gave him a big hoe with spikes as a gift that he could use while he was plowing the land. Again he took his mother's advice to heart and carried it home high above his head with his hands like a large ladle. His mother was not
at all satisfied and told him he should have tied it to a horse and dragged it home.

Finally, the maiden realized that even the Lord would not be able to help the fool, since there wasn't an ounce of brains or wisdom in him, but she didn't know how to get rid of him. So the next time she saw him, she gave him a huge piece of bacon and shoved it into his chest. Of course, he was very satisfied and wanted to go home right away. However, he was afraid that he might lose it and, therefore, tied it to the tail of his horse. Then he mounted the steed and rode home. As he was riding, the dogs came running after him and ripped the bacon from the horse's tail and ate it. When the fool arrived home, the bacon was gone.

It was now completely clear to this mother that her son's wisdom would prevent a marriage. So she decided to drive to the maiden's parents to set the date for the marriage, and before she departed, she had a serious word or two with him and told him to keep the house in order and not to do anything foolish, particularly since she had a goose that was about to hatch some eggs.

Now, as soon as the mother was out of the house, her son disappeared quickly into the cellar, where he got drunk on the wine and lost the plug to the wine barrel. As he hunted for the plug, all the wine spilled and flooded the cellar. Consequently, the bumbler took a sack of flour and shook it all over the wine so that his mother wouldn't see the damage when she returned home. After doing this, he ran up into the house and began eating some wild venison. But the goose that was sitting on her eggs became frightened and shrieked, “
Gaga! Gaga!
”

In turn, the fool became scared and thought the goose had said, “I'm going to tell on him,” and he was positive the bird would tell what he had done in the cellar. So he took the goose and chopped its head off. Now he was afraid that the eggs would spoil and that he was really in trouble. But he thought of a solution: he would sit on the eggs until they hatched. However, it would not work unless he was covered with feathers like the goose. Again he thought of a solution: he took off his clothes and smeared his body all over with honey that his mother had recently made. Then he ripped open the quilt of a bed and rolled around in the feathers so that he
looked like a hobgoblin. Finally, he sat down on the goose eggs and was completely quiet so that the silly young geese inside would not become afraid. As the numbskull was sitting there, his mother returned and knocked on the door. Since the fool was sitting on the eggs, he didn't want to answer. She knocked again, and he screamed, “
Gaga! Gaga!
” and thought that he was hatching the silly young geese (or fools like himself), and therefore he couldn't speak. Finally, his mother threatened him so much that he crawled out of the nest and opened the door. When she saw him, she thought he was the devil himself and asked him what was going on, and he told her that everything was in top shape. However, his mother was anxious about her dunce because his bride was due to arrive soon. So she said to him that she would gladly forgive him, but he must now control himself, for his bride would soon be there. She advised him to welcome her in a friendly way and to be nice to her and to steadily cast polite eyes upon her.

The fool replied, “Yes, mother, I'll do as you say.”

So he wiped off all the feathers, got dressed, and went out into the stable, where he cut out the eyes of all the sheep and stuffed them under his shirt next to his chest. As soon as the bride arrived, he went toward her and cast all the eyes that he had gathered at her face, for he thought this was the way it was to be done.

The good maiden was mortified that he had dirtied and ravaged her like that. It was clear that the fool was a complete boor and that he was totally berserk and might do anything or everything to her that came to his mind. So she turned around, went home, and rejected him.

Well, he remained a fool just as he was before, and he's still hatching young geese to this day. I'm concerned, however, that when the geese wake up, they, too, will become young fools. May the Lord protect us.

33

PUSS IN BOOTS

A miller had three sons, a mill, a donkey, and a cat. The sons had to grind grain, the donkey had to haul the grain and carry away the flour, and the cat had to catch the mice. When the miller died, the three sons divided
the inheritance: the oldest received the mill, the second the donkey, and nothing was left for the third but the cat. This made the youngest sad, and he said to himself, “I certainly got the worst part of the bargain. My oldest brother can grind wheat, and my second brother can ride on his donkey. But what can I do with the cat? Once I make a pair of gloves out of his fur, it's all over.”

The cat, who had understood everything that he had said, began to speak. “Listen, there's no need to kill me when all you'll get will be a pair of poor gloves from my fur. Have some boots made for me instead. Then I'll be able to go out, mix with people, and help you before you know it.”

The miller's son was surprised the cat could speak like that, but since the shoemaker happened to be walking by, he called him inside and had him fit the cat for a pair of boots. When the boots were finished, the cat put them on. After that he took a sack, filled the bottom with grains of wheat, and attached a piece of cord to the top, which he could pull to close it. Then he slung the sack over his back and walked out the door on two legs like a human being.

At that time there was a king ruling the country, and he liked to eat partridges. However, recently the situation had become grave for him because the partridges had become difficult to catch. The whole forest was full of them, but they frightened so easily that none of the huntsmen had been able to get near them. The cat knew this and thought he could do much better than the huntsmen. When he entered the forest, he opened the sack, spread the grains of wheat on the ground, placed the cord in the grass, and strung it out behind a hedge. Then he crawled in back of the hedge, hid himself, and lay in wait. Soon the partridges came running, found the wheat, and hopped into the sack, one after the other. When a good number were inside, the cat pulled the cord. Once the sack was closed tight, he ran over to it and wrung their necks. Then he slung the sack over his back and went straight to the king's castle. The sentry called out, “Stop! Where are you going?”

“To the king,” the cat answered curtly.

“Are you crazy? A cat to the king?”

“Oh, let him go,” another sentry said. “The king's often very bored. Perhaps the cat will give him some pleasure with his meowing and purring.”

When the cat appeared before the king, he bowed and said, “My lord, the Count”—and he uttered a long, distinguished name—”sends you his regards and would like to offer you these partridges, which he recently caught in his traps.”

The king was amazed by the beautiful, fat partridges. Indeed, he was so overcome with joy that he commanded the cat to take as much gold from his treasury as he could carry and put it into the sack. “Bring it to your lord and give him my very best thanks for his gift.”

Meanwhile, the poor miller's son sat at home by the window, propped his head up with his hand, and wondered why he had given away all he had for the cat's boots when the cat would probably not be able to bring him anything great in return. Suddenly, the cat entered, threw down the sack from his back, opened it, and dumped the gold at the miller's feet.

“Now you've got something for the boots. The king also sends his regards and best of thanks.”

The miller's son was happy to have such wealth, even though he didn't understand how everything had happened. However, as the cat was taking off his boots, he told him everything and said, “Surely you have enough money now, but we won't be content with that. Tomorrow I'm going to put on my boots again, and you shall become even richer. Incidentally, I told the king you're a count.”

The following day the cat put on his boots, as he said he would, went hunting again, and brought the king a huge catch. So it went every day, and every day the cat brought back gold to the miller's son. At the king's court he became a favorite, so that he was permitted to go and come and wander about the castle wherever he pleased. One day, as the cat was lying by the hearth in the king's kitchen and warming himself, the coachman came and started cursing, “May the devil take the king and princess! I wanted to go to the tavern, have a drink, and play some cards. But now they want me to drive them to the lake so they can go for a walk.”

When the cat heard that, he ran home and said to his master, “If you want to be a rich count, come with me to the lake and go for a swim.”

The miller didn't know what to say. Nevertheless, he listened to the cat and went with him to the lake, where he undressed and jumped into the
water completely naked. Meanwhile, the cat took his clothes, carried them away, and hid them. No sooner had he done it than the king came driving by. Now the cat began to wail in a miserable voice, “Ahh, most gracious king! My lord went for a swim in the lake, and a thief came and stole his clothes that were lying on the bank. Now the count is in the water and can't get out. If he stays in much longer, he'll freeze and die.”

When the king heard that, he ordered the coach to stop, and one of his servants had to race back to the castle and fetch some of the king's garments. The count put on the splendid clothes, and since the king had already taken a liking to him because of the partridges that, he believed, had been sent by the count, he asked the young man to sit down next to him in the coach. The princess was not in the least angry about this, for the count was young and handsome and pleased her a great deal.

In the meantime, the cat went on ahead of them and came to a large meadow, where there were over a hundred people making hay.

“Who owns this meadow, my good people?” asked the cat.

“The great sorcerer.”

“Listen to me. The king will be driving by, and when he asks who the owner of this meadow is, I want you to answer, ‘The count.' If you don't, you'll all be killed.”

Then the cat continued on his way and came to a wheat field so enormous that nobody could see over it. There were more than two hundred people standing there and cutting wheat.

“Who owns this wheat, my good people?”

“The sorcerer.”

“Listen to me. The king will be driving by, and when he asks who the owner of this wheat is, I want you to answer, ‘The count.' If you don't do this, you'll all be killed.”

Finally, the cat came to a splendid forest where more than three hundred people were chopping down large oak trees and cutting them into wood.

“Who owns this forest, my good people?”

“The sorcerer.”

“Listen to me. The king will be driving by, and when he asks who the owner of this forest is, I want you to answer, ‘The count.' If you don't do this, you'll all be killed.”

The cat continued on his way, and the people watched him go. Since he looked so unusual and walked in boots like a human being, they were afraid of him. Soon the cat came to the sorcerer's castle, walked boldly inside, and appeared before the sorcerer, who looked at him scornfully and asked him what he wanted. The cat bowed and said, “I've heard that you can turn yourself into a dog, a fox, or even a wolf, but I don't believe that you can turn yourself into an elephant. That seems impossible to me, and this is why I've come: I want to be convinced by my own eyes.”

“That's just a trifle for me,” the sorcerer said arrogantly, and within seconds he turned himself into an elephant.

“That's great, but can you also turn yourself into a lion?”

“Nothing to it,” said the sorcerer, and he suddenly stood before the cat as a lion. The cat pretended to be terrified and cried out, “That's incredible and unheard of! Never in my dreams would I have thought this possible! But you'd top all of this if you could turn yourself into a tiny animal, such as a mouse. I'm convinced that you can do more than any other sorcerer in the world, but that would be too much for you.”

The flattery had made the sorcerer quite friendly, and he said, “Oh, no, dear cat, that's not too much at all,” and soon he was running around the room as a mouse.

All at once the cat ran after him, caught the mouse in one leap, and ate him up.