Grimm's Household Tales

Once upon a time a mouse, a bird, and a sausage became companions, kept house together, lived well and happily with each other, and greatly increased their possessions. The bird’s job was to fly into the forest every day and bring back wood. The mouse had to carry water, light the fire, and set the table, and the sausage had to cook.

Whoever is too well off is always longing for something new. One day, therefore, the bird met another bird on the way and told it about his excellent circumstances and boasted of them. The other bird, however, called him a poor simpleton for his hard work, and said that the two at home had an easy time. For when the mouse had made her fire and carried her water, she went into her little room to rest until they called her to set the table. The sausage stayed by the pot, saw that the food was cooking well, and, when it was nearly time for dinner, rolled itself once or twice through the broth or vegetables, and then they were buttered, salted, and ready. When the bird came home and laid down his burden, they sat down to dinner, and after they had eaten, they slept their fill until the next morning. That was a splendid life.

The next day the bird, prompted by the other bird, refused to go into the wood any more. He said that he had been a servant long enough, that they had made a fool of him, and that they must change places for once and try to arrange things in another way. Although the mouse and the sausage also begged most earnestly, the bird insisted on having his way and said it must be tried. They cast lots about it, and the lot fell on the sausage to carry wood, the mouse became the cook, and the bird was to fetch water.

What happened? The little sausage went out toward the wood, the little bird lit the fire, and the mouse stayed by the pot and waited alone until the little sausage came home and brought wood for the next day. But the little sausage stayed away so long on the road that they both feared something was wrong, and the bird flew a little way out into the air to meet it. Not far off, however, he met a dog on the road who had fallen on the poor sausage as lawful booty and had seized and swallowed it. The bird accused the dog of barefaced robbery, but it was in vain to speak, for the dog said he had found forged letters on the sausage, and for that reason its life was forfeited to him.

The bird sadly took up the wood, flew home, and told what he had seen and heard. They were much troubled but agreed to do their best and remain together. The bird therefore set the table, and the mouse prepared the food. She wanted to finish cooking it, so she tried to get into the pot as the sausage used to do, and to roll and creep among the vegetables to mix them; but before she got into the midst of them, she was stopped, and she lost her skin and hair and life in the attempt.

When the bird came to carry up the dinner, no cook was there. In his distress the bird threw the wood here and there, called and searched, but no cook was to be found! Because of his carelessness, the wood caught fire, so that a great fire broke out. The bird hurried to fetch water, but then the bucket dropped from his claws into the well, and he fell down with it and could not recover himself, so he had to drown there.