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Grimms' Fairy Tales
The
Young Giant
Once on a time a countryman had a son who
was as big as a thumb, and did not become any bigger, and
during several years did not grow one hair's breadth. Once
when the father was going out to plough, the little one
said, "Father, I will go out with you." "Thou
wouldst go out with me?" said the father. "Stay
here, thou wilt be of no use out there, besides thou mightest
get lost!" Then Thumbling began to cry, and for the
sake of peace his father put him in his pocket, and took
him with him. When he was outside in the field, he took
him out again, and set him in a freshly-cut furrow. Whilst
he was there, a great giant came over the hill. "Do
thou see that great bogie?" said the father, for he
wanted to frighten the little fellow to make him good; "he
is coming to fetch thee." The giant, however, had scarcely
taken two steps with his long legs before he was in the
furrow. He took up little Thumbling carefully with two fingers,
examined him, and without saying one word went away with
him. His father stood by, but could not utter a sound for
terror, and he thought nothing else but that his child was
lost, and that as long as he lived he should never set eyes
on him again.
The giant, however, carried him home, suckled him, and
Thumbling grew and became tall and strong after the manner
of giants. When two years had passed, the old giant took
him into the forest, wanted to try him, and said, "Pull
up a stick for thyself." Then the boy was already so
strong that he tore up a young tree out of the earth by
the roots. But the giant thought, "We must do better
than that," took him back again, and suckled him two
years longer. When he tried him, his strength had increased
so much that he could tear an old tree out of the ground.
That was still not enough for the giant; he again suckled
him for two years, and when he then went with him into the
forest and said, "Now just tear up a proper stick for
me," the boy tore up the strongest oak-tree from the
earth, so that it split, and that was a mere trifle to him.
"Now that will do," said the giant, "thou
art perfect," and took him back to the field from whence
he had brought him. His father was there following the plough.
The young giant went up to him, and said, "Does my
father see what a fine man his son has grown into?"
The farmer was alarmed, and said, "No, thou art not
my son; I don't want thee leave me!" "Truly I
am your son; allow me to do your work, I can plough as well
as you, nay better." "No, no, thou art not my
son; and thou canst not plough go away!" However, as
he was afraid of this great man, he left go of the plough,
stepped back and stood at one side of the piece of land.
Then the youth took the plough, and just pressed it with
one hand, but his grasp was so strong that the plough went
deep into the earth. The farmer could not bear to see that,
and called to him, "If thou art determined to plough,
thou must not press so hard on it, that makes bad work."
The youth, however, unharnessed the horses, and drew the
plough himself, saying, "Just go home, father, and
bid my mother make ready a large dish of food, and in the
meantime I will go over the field." Then the farmer
went home, and ordered his wife to prepare the food; but
the youth ploughed the field which was two acres large,
quite alone, and then he harnessed himself to the harrow,
and harrowed the whole of the land, using two harrows at
once. When he had done it, he went into the forest, and
pulled up two oak-trees, laid them across his shoulders,
and hung on them one harrow behind and one before, and also
one horse behind and one before, and carried all as if it
had been a bundle of straw, to his parents' house. When
he entered the yard, his mother did not recognize him, and
asked, "Who is that horrible tall man?" The farmer
said, "That is our son." She said, "No that
cannot be our son, we never had such a tall one, ours was
a little thing." She called to him, "Go away,
we do not want thee!" The youth was silent, but led
his horses to the stable, gave them some oats and hay, and
all that they wanted. When he had done this, he went into
the parlour, sat down on the bench and said, "Mother,
now I should like something to eat, will it soon be ready?"
Then she said, "Yes," and brought in two immense
dishes full of food, which would have been enough to satisfy
herself and her husband for a week. The youth, however,
ate the whole of it himself, and asked if she had nothing
more to set before him. "No," she replied, "that
is all we have." "But that was only a taste, I
must have more." She did not dare to oppose him, and
went and put a huge caldron full of food on the fire, and
when it was ready, carried it in. "At length come a
few crumbs," said he, and ate all there was, but it
was still not sufficient to appease his hunger. Then said
he, "Father, I see well that with you I shall never
have food enough; if you will get me an iron staff which
is strong, and which I cannot break against my knees, I
will go out into the world." The farmer was glad, put
his two horses in his cart, and fetched from the smith a
staff so large and thick, that the two horses could only
just bring it away. The youth laid it across his knees,
and snap! he broke it in two in the middle like a bean-stalk,
and threw it away. The father then harnessed four horses,
and brought a bar which was so long and thick, that the
four horses could only just drag it. The son snapped this
also in twain against his knees, threw it away, and said,
"Father, this can be of no use to me, you must harness
more horses, and bring a stronger staff." So the father
harnessed eight horses, and brought one which was so long
and thick, that the eight horses could only just carry it.
When the son took it in his hand, he broke off a bit from
the top of it also, and said, "Father, I see that you
will not be able to procure me any such staff as I want,
I will remain no longer with you."
So he went away, and gave out that he was a smith's apprentice.
He arrived at a village, wherein lived a smith who was a
greedy fellow, who never did a kindness to any one, but
wanted everything for himself. The youth went into the smithy
and asked if he needed a journeyman. "Yes," said
the smith, and looked at him, and thought, "That is
a strong fellow who will strike out well, and earn his bread."
So he asked, "How much wages dost thou want?"
"I don't want any at all," he replied, "only
every fortnight, when the other journeymen are paid, I will
give thee two blows, and thou must bear them." The
miser was heartily satisfied, and thought he would thus
save much money. Next morning, the strange journeyman was
to begin to work, but when the master brought the glowing
bar, and the youth struck his first blow, the iron flew
asunder, and the anvil sank so deep into the earth, that
there was no bringing it out again. Then the miser grew
angry, and said, "Oh, but I can't make any use of you,
you strike far too powerfully; what will you have for the
one blow?"
Then said he, "I will only give you quite a small
blow, that's all." And he raised his foot, and gave
him such a kick that he flew away over four loads of hay.
Then he sought out the thickest iron bar in the smithy for
himself, took it as a stick in his hand and went onwards.
When he had walked for some time, he came to a small farm,
and asked the bailiff if he did not require a head-servant.
"Yes," said the bailiff, "I can make use
of one; you look a strong fellow who can do something, how
much a year do you want as wages?" He again replied
that he wanted no wages at all, but that every year he would
give him three blows, which he must bear. Then the bailiff
was satisfied, for he, too, was a covetous fellow. Next
morning all the servants were to go into the wood, and the
others were already up, but the head-servant was still in
bed. Then one of them called to him, "Get up, it is
time; we are going into the wood, and thou must go with
us." "Ah," said he quite roughly and surlily,
"you may just go, then; I shall be back again before
any of you." Then the others went to the bailiff, and
told him that the head-man was still lying in bed, and would
not go into the wood with them. The bailiff said they were
to awaken him again, and tell him to harness the horses.
The head-man, however, said as before, "Just go there,
I shall be back again before any of you." And then
he stayed in bed two hours longer. At length he arose from
the feathers, but first he got himself two bushels of peas
from the loft, made himself some broth with them, ate it
at his leisure, and when that was done, went and harnessed
the horses, and drove into the wood. Not far from the wood
was a ravine through which he had to pass, so he first drove
the horses on, and then stopped them, and went behind the
cart, took trees and brushwood, and made a great barricade,
so that no horse could get through. When he was entering
the wood, the others were just driving out of it with their
loaded carts to go home; then said he to them, "Drive
on, I will still get home before you do." He did not
drive far into the wood, but at once tore two of the very
largest trees of all out of the earth, threw them on his
cart, and turned round. When he came to the barricade, the
others were still standing there, not able to get through.
"Don't you see," said he, "that if you had
stayed with me, you would have got home just as quickly,
and would have had another hour's sleep?" He now wanted
to drive on, but his horeses could not work their way through,
so he unharnessed them, laid them on the top of the cart,
took the shafts in his own hands, and pulled it all through,
and he did this just as easily as if it had been laden with
feathers. When he was over, he said to the others, "There,
you see, I have got over quicker than you," and drove
on, and the others had to stay where they were. In the yard,
however, he took a tree in his hand, showed it to the bailiff,
and said, "Isn't that a fine bundle of wood?"
Then said the bailiff to his wife, "The servant is
a good one, if he does sleep long, he is still home before
the others." So he served the bailiff for a year, and
when that was over, and the other servants were getting
their wages, he said it was time for him to take his too.
The bailiff, however, was afraid of the blows which he was
to receive, and earnestly entreated him to excuse him from
having them; for rather than that, he himself would be head-servant,
and the youth should be bailiff. "No," said he,
"I will not be a bailiff, I am head-servant, and will
remain so, but I will administer that which we agreed on."
The bailiff was willing to give him whatsoever he demanded,
but it was of no use, the head-servant said no to everything.
Then the bailiff did not know what to do, and begged for
a fortnight's delay, for he wanted to find some way of escape.
The head-servant consented to this delay. The bailiff summoned
all his clerks together, and they were to think the matter
over, and give him advice. The clerks pondered for a long
time, but at last they said that no one was sure of his
life with the head-servant, for he could kill a man as easily
as a midge, and that the bailiff ought to make him get into
the well and clean it, and when he was down below, they
would roll up one of the mill-stones which was lying there,
and throw it on his head; and then he would never return
to daylight. The advice pleased the bailiff, and the head-servant
was quite willing to go down the well. When he was standing
down below at the bottom, they rolled down the largest mill-stone
and thought they had broken his skull, but he cried, "Chase
away those hens from the well, they are scratching in the
sand up there, and throwing the grains into my eyes, so
that I can't see." So the bailiff cried, "Sh-sh,"
and pretended to frighten the hens away. When the head-servant
had finished his work, he climbed up and said, "Just
look what a beautiful neck-tie I have on," and behold
it was the mill-stone which he was wearing round his neck.
The head-servant now wanted to take his reward, but the
bailiff again begged for a fortnight's delay. The clerks
met together and advised him to send the head-servant to
the haunted mill to grind corn by night, for from thence
as yet no man had ever returned in the morning alive. The
proposal pleased the bailiff, he called the head-servant
that very evening, and ordered him to take eight bushels
of corn to the mill, and grind it that night, for it was
wanted. So the head-servant went to the loft, and put two
bushels in his right pocket, and two in his left, and took
four in a wallet, half on his back, and half on his breast,
and thus laden went to the haunted mill. The miller told
him that he could grind there very well by day, but not
by night, for the mill was haunted, and that up to the present
time whosoever had gone into it at night had been found
in the morning lying dead inside. He said, "I will
manage it, just you go away to bed." Then he went into
the mill, and poured out the corn. About eleven o'clock
he went into the miller's room, and sat down on the bench.
When he had sat there a while, a door suddenly opened, and
a large table came in, and on the table, wine and roasted
meats placed themselves, and much good food besides, but
everything came of itself, for no one was there to carry
it. After this the chairs pushed themselves up, but no people
came, until all at once he beheld fingers, which handled
knives and forks, and laid food on the plates, but with
this exception he saw nothing. As he was hungry, and saw
the food, he, too, place himself at the table, ate with
those who were eating and enjoyed it. When he had had enough,
and the others also had quite emptied their dishes, he distinctly
heard all the candles being suddenly snuffed out, and as
it was now pitch dark, he felt something like a box on the
ear. Then he said, "If anything of that kind comes
again, I shall strike out in return." And when he had
received a second box on the ear, he, too struck out. And
so it continued the whole night. He took nothing without
returning it, but repaid everything with interest, and did
not lay about him in vain. At daybreak, however, everything
ceased. When the miller had got up, he wanted to look after
him, and wondered if he were still alive. Then the youth
said, "I have eaten my fill, have received some boxes
on the ears, but I have given some in return." The
miller rejoiced, and said that the mill was now released
from the spell, and wanted to give him much money as a reward.
But he said, "Money, I will not have, I have enough
of it." So he took his meal on his back, went home,
and told the bailiff that he had done what he had been told
to do, and would now have the reward agreed on. When the
bailiff heard that, he was seriously alarmed and quite beside
himself; he walked backwards and forwards in the room, and
drops of perspiration ran down from his forehead. Then he
opened the window to get some fresh air, but before he was
aware, the head-servant had given him such a kick that he
flew through the window out into the air, and so far away
that no one ever saw him again. Then said the head-servant
to the bailiff's wife, "If he does not come back, you
must take the other blow." She cried, "No, no
I cannot bear it," and opened the other window, because
drops of perspiration were running down her forehead. Then
he gave her such a kick that she, too, flew out, and as
she was lighter she went much higher than her husband. Her
husband cried, "Do come to me," but she replied,
"Come thou to me, I cannot come to thee." And
they hovered about there in the air, and could not get to
each other, and whether they are still hovering about, or
not, I do not know, but the young giant took up his iron
bar, and went on his way.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 2:16-23. |
