Grimm's Household Tales

There were once three brothers who had fallen deeper and deeper into poverty, and at last their need was so great that they had to endure hunger and had nothing to eat or drink. Then they said, “We cannot go on like this. We had better go into the world and seek our fortune.” They therefore set out, and they had already walked over many a long road and many a blade of grass, but they had not yet met with good luck. One day they arrived in a great forest, and in the middle of it was a hill, and when they came nearer they saw that the hill was all silver. Then the eldest spoke. “Now I have found the good luck I wished for, and I desire nothing more.” He took as much of the silver as he could possibly carry, and then turned back and went home again. But the other two said, “We want something more from good luck than mere silver,” and they did not touch it but went onward. After they had walked for two more days without stopping, they came to a hill that was all gold. The second brother stopped, thought it over, and could not decide. “What shall I do?” he said. “Shall I take so much of this gold that I have enough for the rest of my life, or shall I go farther?” At length he made a decision, and he put as much into his pockets as would fit, said farewell to his brother, and went home. But the third brother said, “Silver and gold do not move me. I will not give up my chance at fortune; perhaps something better still will be given to me.” He journeyed onward, and when he had walked for three days, he came to a forest that was even larger than the one before, and it never seemed to come to an end. As he found nothing to eat or drink, he was nearly exhausted. Then he climbed up a high tree to find out whether he could see the end of the forest from up there, but as far as his eye could reach he saw nothing but the tops of trees. Then he began to climb down the tree again, but hunger tormented him, and he thought to himself, “If only I could eat my fill once more!” When he got down, he saw with astonishment a table beneath the tree, richly spread with food, and the steam from it rose up to meet him. “This time,” he said, “my wish has been fulfilled at the right moment.” And without asking who had brought the food or who had cooked it, he approached the table and ate with enjoyment until he had satisfied his hunger. When he was done, he thought, “It would be a pity after all if the pretty little tablecloth were ruined here in the forest,” and he folded it up neatly and put it in his pocket. Then he went onward, and in the evening, when hunger made itself felt once more, he wanted to try out his little cloth. He spread it out and said, “I wish you to be covered with good food again,” and scarcely had the wish crossed his lips when as many dishes of the most exquisite food as there was room for stood on the table. “Now I understand,” he said, “in what kitchen my cooking is done. You shall be dearer to me than the mountains of silver and gold.” For he saw plainly that it was a wishing-cloth. The cloth, however, was still not enough to let him settle down quietly at home; he preferred to wander about the world and pursue his fortune farther.

One night, in a lonely wood, he met a dusty, black charcoal-burner, who was burning charcoal there and had some potatoes by the fire, on which he was going to make a meal. “Good evening, blackbird!” said the youth. “How do you get on in your solitude?”

“One day is like another,” replied the charcoal-burner, “and every night it is potatoes! Do you have a mind to have some, and will you be my guest?” “Many thanks,” replied the traveler, “I won’t rob you of your supper. You did not count on a visitor, but if you will put up with what I have, you shall have an invitation.”

“Who is going to prepare it for you?” said the charcoal-burner. “I see that you have nothing with you, and there is no one within a two hours’ walk who could give you anything.” “And yet there shall be a meal,” answered the youth, “and a better one than any you have ever tasted.” Thereupon he brought his cloth out of his knapsack, spread it on the ground, and said, “Little cloth, cover yourself,” and instantly boiled meat and baked meat stood there, as hot as if they had just come out of the kitchen. The charcoal-burner stared, but he did not need much urging; he fell to and thrust larger and larger mouthfuls into his black mouth. When they had eaten everything, the charcoal-burner smiled contentedly and said, “Listen, your tablecloth has my approval; it would be a fine thing for me in this forest, where no one ever cooks me anything good. I will propose an exchange. There in the corner hangs a soldier’s knapsack, which is certainly old and shabby, but wonderful powers lie hidden in it. Since I no longer use it, I will give it to you for the tablecloth.”

“I must first know what these wonderful powers are,” answered the youth.

“I will tell you,” replied the charcoal-burner. “Every time you tap it with your hand, a corporal comes with six men armed from head to foot, and they do whatever you command them.” “As far as I am concerned,” said the youth, “if nothing else can be done, we will exchange.” He gave the charcoal-burner the cloth, took the knapsack from the hook, put it on, and said farewell. When he had walked a while, he wished to try out the magical powers of his knapsack and tapped it. Immediately the seven warriors stepped up to him, and the corporal said, “What does my lord and master wish for?”

“March with all speed to the charcoal-burner and demand my wishing-cloth back.” They turned to the left, and it was not long before they brought what he required, having taken it from the charcoal-burner without asking many questions. The young man told them to go, went onward, and hoped that fortune would shine even more brightly on him. By sunset he came to another charcoal-burner, who was making his supper ready by the fire. “If you will eat some potatoes with salt but with no dripping, come and sit down with me,” said the sooty fellow.

“No,” he replied, “this time you shall be my guest.” He spread out his cloth, which was instantly covered with the most beautiful dishes. They ate and drank together and enjoyed themselves heartily. After the meal was over, the charcoal-burner said, “Up there on that shelf lies a little old worn-out hat that has strange properties. When anyone puts it on and turns it around on his head, the cannons go off as if twelve were fired all together, and they shoot down everything so that no one can withstand them. The hat is of no use to me, and I will gladly give it for your tablecloth.”

“That suits me very well,” he answered. He took the hat, put it on, and left his tablecloth behind him. Hardly had he walked away, however, when he tapped on his knapsack, and his soldiers had to fetch the cloth back again. “One thing comes on top of another,” he thought, “and I feel as if my luck had not yet come to an end.” His thoughts did not deceive him. After he had walked on for the whole of one day, he came to a third charcoal-burner, who, like the previous ones, invited him to potatoes without dripping. But he let this one also dine with him from his wishing-cloth, and the charcoal-burner liked it so well that at last he offered him a horn for it, which had very different properties from those of the hat. When anyone blew it, all the walls and fortifications fell down, and all towns and villages became ruins. He did give the charcoal-burner the cloth for it, but afterward he sent his soldiers to demand it back again, so that at length he had the knapsack, the hat, and the horn, all three. “Now,” he said, “I am a made man, and it is time for me to go home and see how my brothers are getting on.”

When he reached home, his brothers had built themselves a handsome house with their silver and gold, and they were living in luxury. He went to see them, but because he came in a ragged coat, with his shabby hat on his head and his old knapsack on his back, they would not acknowledge him as their brother. They mocked him and said, “You claim that you are our brother, who despised silver and gold and craved something still better for himself. He will come in his carriage in full splendor like a mighty king, not like a beggar,” and they drove him out of the house. Then he fell into a rage and tapped his knapsack until a hundred and fifty men stood before him, armed from head to foot. He commanded them to surround his brothers’ house, and two of them were to take hazel sticks with them and beat the two insolent men until they knew who he was. A violent disturbance arose, and people ran together and wanted to lend the two some help in their need, but they could do nothing against the soldiers. News of this at length came to the King, who was very angry and ordered a captain to march out with his troop and drive this disturber of the peace out of the town. But the man with the knapsack soon gathered a greater body of men, who repulsed the captain and his men, so that they were forced to retreat with bloody noses. The King said, “This vagabond has not been brought to order yet,” and the next day he sent a still larger troop against him, but they could do even less. The youth set still more men against them, and in order to be done sooner, he turned his hat twice around on his head, and heavy guns began to fire, and the King’s men were beaten and put to flight. “And now,” he said, “I will not make peace until the King gives me his daughter as my wife and I govern the whole kingdom in his name.” He had this announced to the King, and the King said to his daughter, “Necessity is a hard nut to crack. What remains for me but to do what he desires? If I want peace and want to keep the crown on my head, I must give you away.”

So the wedding was celebrated, but the King’s daughter was vexed that her husband should be a common man who wore a shabby hat and carried an old knapsack. She wished very much to get rid of him, and night and day she studied how she could accomplish this. Then she thought to herself, “Is it possible that his wonderful powers lie in the knapsack?” She pretended to be fond of him and caressed him, and when his heart was softened, she said, “If you would only lay aside that ugly knapsack! It disfigures you so much that I can’t help being ashamed of you.” “Dear child,” he said, “this knapsack is my greatest treasure; as long as I have it, there is no power on earth that I am afraid of.” And he revealed to her the wonderful power with which it was endowed. Then she threw herself into his arms as if she were going to kiss him, but she skillfully took the knapsack off his shoulders and ran away with it. As soon as she was alone she tapped it and commanded the warriors to seize their former master and take him out of the royal palace. They obeyed, and the false wife sent still more men after him, who were to drive him out of the country altogether. Then he would have been ruined if he had not had the little hat. But his hands were scarcely free before he turned it twice. Immediately the cannons began to thunder and struck down everything, and the King’s daughter herself was forced to come and beg for mercy. As she pleaded in such moving terms and promised to mend her ways, he allowed himself to be persuaded and granted her peace. She behaved in a friendly manner toward him and acted as if she loved him very much, and after some time she managed to fool him so well that he confided to her that even if someone got the knapsack into his power, that person could do nothing against him as long as he still had the old hat. When she knew the secret, she waited until he was asleep, then took the hat away from him and had it thrown out into the street. But the horn still remained to him, and in great anger he blew it with all his strength. Instantly all the walls, fortifications, towns, and villages toppled down and crushed the King and his daughter to death. And if he had not put down the horn but had blown just a little longer, everything would have been in ruins, and not one stone would have been left standing on another. Then no one opposed him any longer, and he made himself King of the whole country.