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Grimms' Fairy Tales
The
Godfather
A poor man had so many children that he had
already asked every one in the world to be godfather, and
when still another child was born, no one else was left
whom he could invite. He knew not what to do, and, in his
perplexity, he lay down and fell asleep. Then he dreamt
that he was to go outside the gate, and ask the first person
who met him to be godfather. When he awoke, he determined
to obey his dream, and went outside the gate, and asked
the first person who came up to him to be godfather. The
stranger presented him with a little glass of water, and
said, "This is a wonderful water, with it thou canst
heal the sick, only thou must see where Death is standing.
If he is standing by the patient's head, give the patient
some of the water and he will be healed, but if Death is
standing by his feet, all trouble will be in vain, for the
sick man must die." From this time forth, the man could
always say whether a patient could be saved or not, and
became famous for his skill, and earned a great deal of
money. Once he was called in to the child of the King, and
when he entered, he saw death standing by the child's head
and cured it with the water, and he did the same a second
time, but the third time Death was standing by its feet,
and then he knew the child was forced to die.
Once the man thought he would visit the godfather, and
tell him how he had succeeded with the water. But when he
entered the house, it was such a strange establishment!
On the first flight of stairs, the broom and shovel were
disputing, and knocking each other about violently. He asked
them, "Where does the godfather live?" The broom
replied, "One flight of stairs higher up." When
he came to the second flight, he saw a heap of dead fingers
lying. He asked, "Where does the godfather live?"
One of the fingers replied, "One flight of stairs higher."
On the third flight lay a heap of dead heads, which again
directed him to the flight beyond. On the fourth flight,
he saw fishes on the fire, which frizzled in the pans and
baked themselves. They, too, said, "One flight of stairs
higher." And when he had ascended the fifth, he came
to the door of a room and peeped through the keyhole, and
there he saw the godfather who had a pair of long horns.
When he opened the door and went in, the godfather got into
bed in a great hurry and covered himself up. Then said the
man, "Sir godfather, what a strange household you have!
When I came to your first flight of stairs, the shovel and
broom were quarreling, and beating each other violently."
"How stupid you are!" said the godfather. "That
was the boy and the maid talking to each other." "But
on the second flight I saw dead fingers lying." "Oh,
how silly you are! Those were some roots of scorzonera."
"On the third flight lay a heap of dead men's heads."
"Foolish man, those were cabbages." "On the
fourth flight, I saw fishes in a pan, which were hissing
and baking themselves." When he had said that, the
fishes came and served themselves up. "And when I got
to the fifth flight, I peeped through the keyhole of a door,
and there, godfather, I saw you, and you had long, long
horns." "Oh, that is a lie!" The man became
alarmed, and ran out, and if he had not, who knows what
the godfather would have done to him.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:168-170. |
