Grimm's Household Tales

An aged count once lived in Switzerland. He had an only son, but the son was stupid and could learn nothing. Then the father said, “Listen, my son. I can get nothing into your head, however I try. You must go away from here. I will put you in the care of a celebrated master, who shall see what he can do with you.” The youth was sent to a strange town and remained a whole year with the master. At the end of this time he came home again, and his father asked, “Now, my son, what have you learned?” “Father, I have learned what the dogs say when they bark.” “Lord have mercy on us!” cried the father. “Is that all you have learned? I will send you to another town, to another master.” The youth was taken there and stayed a year with this master as well. When he came back, the father again asked, “My son, what have you learned?” He answered, “Father, I have learned what the birds say.” Then the father fell into a rage and said, “Oh, you hopeless fellow, you have wasted the precious time and learned nothing! Are you not ashamed to appear before my eyes? I will send you to a third master, but if you learn nothing this time either, I will no longer be your father.” The youth remained a whole year with the third master also. When he came home again and his father asked, “My son, what have you learned?” he answered, “Dear father, this year I have learned what the frogs croak.” Then the father fell into the most furious anger, sprang up, called his people to him, and said, “This man is no longer my son. I drive him out, and I command you to take him into the forest and kill him.” They took him out, but when they were supposed to kill him, they could not do it out of pity, and they let him go. They cut the eyes and the tongue out of a deer so that they could carry them to the old man as a token.

The youth wandered on, and after some time he came to a fortress where he begged for a night’s lodging. “Yes,” said the lord of the castle, “if you will spend the night down there in the old tower, go there. But I warn you, it is at the peril of your life, for it is full of wild dogs that bark and howl without stopping, and at certain hours a man has to be given to them, whom they at once devour.” The whole district was in sorrow and dismay because of them, and yet no one could do anything to stop this. The youth, however, was without fear and said, “Just let me go down to the barking dogs, and give me something that I can throw to them. They will do nothing to harm me.” Since he wanted it that way himself, they gave him some food for the wild animals and led him down to the tower. When he went inside, the dogs did not bark at him but wagged their tails quite amicably around him, ate what he set before them, and did not hurt one hair of his head. The next morning, to everyone’s astonishment, he came out again safe and unharmed, and he said to the lord of the castle, “The dogs have revealed to me, in their own language, why they dwell there and bring evil on the land. They are bewitched and are obliged to watch over a great treasure that lies below in the tower, and they can have no rest until it is taken away. I have also learned from their talk how that is to be done.” Then all who heard this rejoiced, and the lord of the castle said he would adopt him as a son if he accomplished it successfully. He went down again, and since he knew what he had to do, he did it thoroughly and brought a chest full of gold out with him. The howling of the wild dogs was heard no more from then on. They had disappeared, and the country was freed from the trouble.

After some time he took it into his head to travel to Rome. On the way he passed a marsh in which a number of frogs were sitting, croaking. He listened to them, and when he became aware of what they were saying, he grew very thoughtful and sad. At last he arrived in Rome, where the Pope had just died, and there was great difficulty over whom they should appoint as his successor. They finally agreed that the person chosen as pope should be one distinguished by some divine and miraculous token. Just as that was decided, the young count entered the church, and suddenly two snow-white doves flew onto his shoulders and remained sitting there. The church officials recognized in this the token from above and asked him on the spot whether he would be pope. He was undecided and did not know whether he was worthy of this, but the doves advised him to do it, and at length he said yes. Then he was anointed and consecrated, and thus what he had heard from the frogs on his way, which had affected him so deeply, was fulfilled: he was to be His Holiness the Pope. Then he had to sing a mass and did not know one word of it, but the two doves sat continually on his shoulders and said it all in his ear.