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Grimms' Fairy Tales
The
Three Languages
An aged count once lived in Switzerland, who
had an only son, but he was stupid, and could learn nothing.
Then said the father, "Hark thee, my son, I can get
nothing into thy head, let me try as I will. Thou must go
from hence, I will give thee into the care of a celebrated
master, who shall see what he can do with thee." The
youth was sent into 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 hast
thou learnt?" "Father, I have learnt what the
dogs say when they bark." "Lord have mercy on
us!" cried the father; "is that all thou hast
learnt? I will send thee into another town, to another master."
The youth was taken thither, and stayed a year with this
master likewise. When he came back the father again asked,
"My son, what hast thou learnt?" He answered,
"Father, I have learnt what the birds say." Then
the father fell into a rage and said, "Oh, thou lost
man, thou hast spent the precious time and learnt nothing;
art thou not ashamed to appear before mine eyes? I will
send thee to a third master, but if thou learnest nothing
this time also, I will no longer be thy father." The
youth remained a whole year with the third master also,
and when he came home again, and his father inquired, "My
son, what hast thou learnt?" he answered, "Dear
father, I have this year learnt what the frogs croak."
Then the father fell into the most furious anger, sprang
up, called his people thither, and said, "This man
is no longer my son, I drive him forth, and command you
to take him out into the forest, and kill him." They
took him forth, but when they should have killed him, they
could not do it for pity, and let him go, and they cut the
eyes and the tongue out of a deer that they might carry
them to the old man as a token.
The youth wandered on, and after some time came to a fortress
where he begged for a night's lodging. "Yes,"
said the lord of the castle, "if thou wilt pass the
night down there in the old tower, go thither; but I warn
thee, it is at the peril of thy life, for it is full of
wild dogs, which 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." As he himself would have it so,
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. Next morning, to the astonishment of everyone,
he came out again safe and unharmed, and 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 which is below in the tower, and they can
have no rest until it is taken away, and I have likewise
learnt, from their discourse, 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 as 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 henceforth heard
no more; they had disappeared, and the country was freed
from the trouble.
After some time he took it into his head that he would
travel to Rome. On the way he passed by 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
as to whom they should appoint as his successor. They at
length agreed that the person should be chosen as pope who
should be distinguished by some divine and miraculous token.
And just as that was decided on, the young count entered
into the church, and suddenly two snow-white doves flew
on his shoulders and remained sitting there. The ecclesiastics
recognized therein the token from above, and asked him on
the spot if he would be pope. He was undecided, and knew
not if he were worthy of this, but the doves counselled
him to do it, and at length he said yes. Then was he anointed
and consecrated, and thus was fulfilled what he had heard
from the frogs on his way, which had so affected him, that
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.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:136-138. |
