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Grimms' Fairy Tales
Clever
Hans
The mother of Hans said, "Whither away,
Hans?" Hans answered, "To Grethel." "Behave
well, Hans." "Oh, I'll behave well. Good-bye,
mother." "Good-bye, Hans." Hans comes to
Grethel, "Good day, Grethel." "Good day,
Hans. What dost thou bring that is good?" "I bring
nothing, I want to have something given me." Grethel
presents Hans with a needle. Hans says, "Good-bye,
Grethel." "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans takes the needle, sticks it into a hay-cart, and follows
the cart home. "Good evening, mother." "Good
evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" "With Grethel."
"What didst thou take her?" "Took nothing;
had something given me." "What did Grethel give
thee?" "Gave me a needle." "Where is
the needle, Hans?" "Stuck it in the hay-cart."
"That was ill done, Hans. Thou shouldst have stuck
the needle in thy sleeve." "Never mind, I'll do
better next time."
"Whither away, Hans?" "To Grethel, mother."
"Behave well, Hans." "Oh, I'll behave well.
Good-bye, mother." "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." "Good
day, Hans. What dost thou bring that is good?" "I
bring nothing; I want to have something given to me."
Grethel presents Hans with a knife. "Good-bye, Grethel."
"Good-bye Hans." Hans takes the knife, sticks
it in his sleeve, and goes home. "Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" "With
Grethel." "What didst thou take her?" "Took
her nothing, she gave me something." "What did
Grethel give thee?" "Gave me a knife." "Where
is the knife, Hans?" "Stuck in my sleeve."
"That's ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have put the
knife in thy pocket." "Never mind, will do better
next time." "Whither away, Hans?" "To
Grethel, mother. " "Behave well, Hans." "Oh,
I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." "Good-bye,
Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." "Good
day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" "I
bring nothing, I want something given me." Grethel
presents Hans with a young goat. "Good-bye, Grethel."
"Good-bye, 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 hast thou been?" "With Grethel."
"What didst thou take her?" "Took nothing,
she gave me something." "What did Grethel give
thee?" "She gave me a goat." "Where
is the goat, Hans?" "Put it in my pocket."
"That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have put a
rope round the goat's neck." "Never mind, will
do better next time."
"Whither away, Hans,?" "To Grethel, mother."
"Behave well, Hans." "Oh, I'll behave well.
Good-bye, mother." "Good-bye, Hans." Hans
comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." "Good
day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" "I
bring nothing, I want something given me." Grethel
presents Hans with a piece of bacon. "Good-bye, Grethel."
"Good-bye, 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 no
longer anything hanging to it. "Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans." "Where hast thou been?"
"With Grethel." What didst thou take her?"
"I took her nothing, she gave me something." "What
did Grethel give thee?" "Gave me a bit of bacon."
"Where is the bacon, Hans?" "I tied it to
a rope, brought it home, dogs took it." "That
was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have carried the bacon
on thy head." "Never mind, will do better next
time." "Whither away, Hans?" "To Grethel,
mother." "Behave well, Hans." "I'll
behave well. Good-bye, mother." "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." "Good
day, Hans." "What good thing dost thou bring?"
"I bring nothing, but would have something given."
Grethel presents Hans with a calf. "Good-bye, Grethel."
"Good-bye, Hans."
Hans takes the calf, puts it on his head, and the calf
kicks his face. Good evening, mother." "Good evening,
Hans. Where hast thou been?" "With Grethel."
"What didst thou take her?" "I took nothing,
but had something given me." "What did Grethel
give thee?" "A calf." "Where hast thou
the calf, Hans?" "I set it on my head and it kicked
my face." "That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst
have led the calf, and put it in the stall." "Never
mind, will do better next time."
"Whither away, Hans?" "To Grethel, mother."
"Behave well, Hans." "I'll behave well. Good-bye,
mother." "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." "Good
day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" "I
bring nothing, but would have something given." Grethel
says to Hans, "I will go with thee."
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 hast
thou been?" "With Grethel." "What didst
thou take her?" "I took her nothing." "What
did Grethel give thee?" "She gave me nothing,
she came with me." "Where hast thou left Grethel?"
"I led her by the rope, tied her to the rack, and scattered
some grass for her." "That was ill done, Hans,
thou shouldst have cast friendly eyes on her." "Never
mind, 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.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:133-135. |
