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Grimms' Fairy Tales
The
Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
Once on a time a mouse, a bird, and a sausage
became companions, kept house together, lived well and happily
with each other, and wonderfully increased their possessions.
The bird's work was to fly every day into the forest and
bring back wood. The mouse had to carry water, light the
fire, and lay the table, but the sausage had to cook.
He who is too well off is always longing for something
new. One day, therefore, the bird met with another bird,
on the way, to whom it related its excellent circumstances
and boasted of them. The other bird, however, called it
a poor simpleton for his hard work, but said that the two
at home had good times. For when the mouse had made her
fire and carried her water, she went into her little room
to rest until they called her to lay the table. The sausage
stayed by the pot, saw that the food was cooking well, and,
when it was nearly time for dinner, it rolled itself once
or twice through the broth or vegetables and then they were
buttered, salted, and ready. When the bird came home and
laid his burden down, they sat down to dinner, and after
they had had their meal, they slept their fill till next
morning, and that was a splendid life.
Next day the bird, prompted by the other bird, would go
no more into the wood, saying that he had been servant long
enough, and had been made a fool of by them, and that they
must change about for once, and try to arrange it in another
way. And, though the mouse and the sausage also begged most
earnestly, the bird would have his way, and said it must
be tried. They cast lots about it, and the lot fell on the
sausage who was to carry wood, the mouse became cook, and
the bird was to fetch water.
What happened? The little sausage went out towards the
wood, the little bird lighted the fire, the mouse stayed
by the pot and waited alone until little sausage came home
and brought wood for next day. But the little sausage stayed
so long on the road that they both feared something was
amiss, and the bird flew out a little way in the air to
meet it. Not far off, however, it met a dog on the road
who had fallen on the poor sausage as lawful booty, and
had seized and swallowed it. The bird charged the dog with
an act of barefaced robbery, but it was in vain to speak,
for the dog said he had found forged letters on the sausage,
on which account its life was forfeited to him.
The bird sadly took up the wood, flew home, and related
what he had seen and heard. They were much troubled, but
agreed to do their best and remain together. The bird therefore
laid the cloth, and the mouse made ready the food, and wanted
to dress it, and to get into the pot as the sausage used
to do, and roll and creep amongst the vegetables to mix
them; but before she got into the midst of them she was
stopped, and lost her skin and hair and life in the attempt.
When the bird came to carry up the dinner, no cook was
there. In its distress the bird threw the wood here and
there, called and searched, but no cook was to be found!
Owing to his carelessness the wood caught fire, so that
a conflagration ensued, the bird hastened to fetch water,
and then the bucket dropped from his claws into the well,
and he fell down with it, and could not recover himself,
but had to drown there.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:103-104. |
