Grimm's Household Tales

A tailor and a goldsmith were traveling together, and one evening when the sun had sunk behind the mountains, they heard the sound of distant music, which became more and more distinct. It sounded strange but so pleasant that they forgot all their weariness and stepped quickly onward. The moon had already risen when they reached a hill on which they saw a crowd of little men and women who had taken each other’s hands and were whirling around in the dance with the greatest pleasure and delight.

They sang to it most charmingly, and that was the music that the travelers had heard. In the middle of them sat an old man who was rather taller than the rest. He wore a parti-colored coat, and his iron-gray beard hung down over his chest. The two remained standing, full of astonishment, and watched the dance. The old man made a sign for them to enter, and the little folk willingly opened their circle. The goldsmith, who had a hump on his back, was bold enough to step in; the tailor felt a little afraid at first and held back, but when he saw how merrily everything was going, he plucked up his courage and followed. The circle closed again at once, and the little folk went on singing and dancing with the wildest leaps. The old man, however, took a large knife that hung from his belt and sharpened it, and when it was sharp enough, he looked around at the strangers. They were terrified, but they did not have much time for reflection, for the old man seized the goldsmith and with the greatest speed shaved the hair of his head clean off, and then the same thing happened to the tailor. But their fear left them when, after he had finished his work, the old man clapped them both on the shoulder in a friendly manner, as if to say that they had behaved well in letting all that be done to them willingly and without any struggle. He pointed with his finger to a heap of coals that lay to one side and made it clear to the travelers by his gestures that they were to fill their pockets with them. Both of them obeyed, although they did not know what use the coals would be to them, and then they went on their way to look for shelter for the night. When they had come down into the valley, the clock of the neighboring monastery struck twelve, and the song ceased. In a moment all had vanished, and the hill lay in solitude in the moonlight.

The two travelers found an inn and covered themselves up with their coats on their straw beds, but in their weariness they forgot to take the coals out of their pockets before doing so. A heavy weight on their limbs woke them earlier than usual. They felt in the pockets and could not believe their eyes when they saw that the pockets were filled not with coals but with pure gold; happily, too, the hair of their heads and beards was there again, as thick as ever.

They had now become rich men, but the goldsmith, who in accordance with his greedy disposition had filled his pockets better, was twice as rich as the tailor. A greedy man, even if he has much, still wishes to have more, so the goldsmith proposed to the tailor that they wait another day and go out again in the evening to bring back still greater treasures from the old man on the hill. The tailor refused and said, “I have enough and am content; now I shall be a master and marry my dear object (for so he called his sweetheart), and I am a happy man.” But to please the goldsmith, he stayed another day. In the evening the goldsmith hung a couple of bags over his shoulders so that he would be able to stow away a great deal, and he took the road to the hill. He found the little folk at their singing and dancing, as on the night before, and the old man again shaved him clean and motioned to him to take some coal away with him. He was not slow about stuffing as much into his bags as would fit; he went back quite delighted and covered himself with his coat. “Even if the gold does weigh heavily,” he said, “I will gladly bear that,” and at last he fell asleep with the sweet anticipation of waking in the morning an enormously rich man.

When he opened his eyes, he got up in haste to examine his pockets, but how amazed he was when he drew nothing out of them but black coals, however often he put his hands in them. “The gold I got the night before is still there for me,” he thought, and he went and brought it out, but how shocked he was when he saw that it, too, had turned back into coal. He struck his forehead with his dusty black hand, and then he felt that his whole head was bald and smooth, as was also the place where his beard should have been. But his misfortunes were not yet over; he now noticed for the first time that, in addition to the hump on his back, a second one, just as large, had grown in front on his chest. Then he recognized the punishment for his greed and began to weep aloud. The good tailor, who was awakened by this, comforted the unhappy fellow as well as he could and said, “You have been my comrade on my travels; you shall stay with me and share in my wealth.” He kept his word, but the poor goldsmith was obliged to carry the two humps as long as he lived and to cover his bald head with a cap.