Grimm's Household Tales

The mother of Hans said, “Where are you going, Hans?” Hans answered, “To Grethel.” “Behave well, Hans.” “Oh, I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.” Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing. I want to have something given to me.” Grethel presents Hans with a needle. Hans says, “Goodbye, Grethel.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans takes the needle, sticks it into a hay cart, and follows the cart home. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took nothing. I had something given to me.” “What did Grethel give you?” “She gave me a needle.” “Where is the needle, Hans?” “I stuck it in the hay cart.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have stuck the needle in your sleeve.” “Never mind, I will do better next time.”

“Where are you going, Hans?” “To Grethel, Mother.” “Behave well, Hans.” “Oh, I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing. I want to have something given to me.” Grethel presents Hans with a knife. “Goodbye, Grethel.” “Goodbye, Hans.” Hans takes the knife, sticks it in his sleeve, and goes home. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took her nothing. She gave me something.” “What did Grethel give you?” “She gave me a knife.” “Where is the knife, Hans?” “Stuck in my sleeve.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have put the knife in your pocket.” “Never mind, I will do better next time.” “Where are you going, Hans?” “To Grethel, Mother.” “Behave well, Hans.” “Oh, I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing. I want something given to me.” Grethel presents Hans with a young goat. “Goodbye, Grethel.” “Goodbye, Hans.” Hans takes the goat, ties its legs, and puts it in his pocket. When he gets home, it is suffocated. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took nothing. She gave me something.” “What did Grethel give you?” “She gave me a goat.” “Where is the goat, Hans?” “I put it in my pocket.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have put a rope around the goat’s neck.” “Never mind, I will do better next time.”

“Where are you going, Hans?” “To Grethel, Mother.” “Behave well, Hans.” “Oh, I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.” Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing. I want something given to me.” Grethel presents Hans with a piece of bacon. “Goodbye, Grethel.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans takes the bacon, ties it to a rope, and drags it away behind him. The dogs come and devour the bacon. When he gets home, he has the rope in his hand, and there is nothing left hanging from it. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans.” “Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took her nothing. She gave me something.” “What did Grethel give you?” “She gave me a bit of bacon.” “Where is the bacon, Hans?” “I tied it to a rope and brought it home, and the dogs took it.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have carried the bacon on your head.” “Never mind, I will do better next time.” “Where are you going, Hans?” “To Grethel, Mother.” “Behave well, Hans.” “I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans.” “What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing, but I would like to have something given to me.” Grethel presents Hans with a calf. “Goodbye, Grethel.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans takes the calf and puts it on his head, and the calf kicks his face. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took nothing, but I had something given to me.” “What did Grethel give you?” “A calf.” “Where do you have the calf, Hans?” “I set it on my head, and it kicked my face.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have led the calf and put it in the stall.” “Never mind, I will do better next time.”

“Where are you going, Hans?” “To Grethel, Mother.” “Behave well, Hans.” “I will behave well. Goodbye, Mother.” “Goodbye, Hans.”

Hans comes to Grethel. “Good day, Grethel.” “Good day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?” “I bring nothing, but I would like to have something given to me.” Grethel says to Hans, “I will go with you.”

Hans takes Grethel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack, and binds her fast. Then Hans goes to his mother. “Good evening, Mother.” “Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?” “With Grethel.” “What did you take her?” “I took her nothing.” “What did Grethel give you?” “She gave me nothing. She came with me.” “Where have you left Grethel?” “I led her by the rope, tied her to the rack, and scattered some grass for her.” “That was badly done, Hans. You should have cast friendly eyes on her.” “Never mind, I will do better.”

Hans went into the stable, cut out all the calves’ and sheep’s eyes, and threw them in Grethel’s face. Then Grethel became angry, tore herself loose and ran away, and became the bride of Hans.