The Golden Goose

"The Golden Goose" by The Brothers Grimm

There was once a man and woman who had three grown sons and the youngest was called Dummling.

The eldest son wanted to travel to the forest and become a lumberjack.

Before he went, his mother gave him a sweet cake and a bottle of apple cider so that he would not suffer of hunger or thirst while in the woods.

When he entered the forest, he met a little grey-haired old man who greeted him and asked, "Would you please give me a piece of cake from your bag and some of your apple cider? I am so hungry and thirsty."

But, the eldest son answered, "If I give you some of my food and drink, then I will have not have enough for myself. Now leave me alone."

And, he left the little man where he was.

But, when the son began to chop down a tree, it was not long before he accidentally cut himself in the arm with his axe.

And so, the son had to return home to see a doctor.

The little, old, grey man had made all of this happen.

Soon, the second son decided to go into the forest, and his mother gave him a cake and a bottle of apple cider.

The little, old, grey man also met him, and asked him for some of his cake and apple cider.

But, the second son also said no to the little man.

And, he too was punished.

When he began to chop down the tree, he struck himself in the leg and had to limp home.

When he returned, the third son, Dummling, said, "Father, I want to go to the forest and chop wood."

But his father answered, "Your brothers have hurt themselves and you are even younger than they are. I don't want you to go."

But Dummling begged to go to the forest for so long that at last his father said, "Then go. Maybe you will learn your lesson if you also hurt yourself."

His mother hoped that he would not go, and she tried to change his mind by giving him a burnt cake and a bottle of warm water.

But, Dummling went into the forest anyway.

He soon met the little, old, grey man who said to him, "Please give me a piece of your cake and a drink from your bottle. I am so hungry and thirsty."

Dummling answered, "I have only a burnt cake and a bottle of warm water. If you don't mind that, we can share it."

So they sat down to eat, but when Dummling pulled out the food and drink, the burnt cake had become a delicious, sweet cake, and the warm water had become cool, crisp apple cider.

They ate and drank, and after finishing the little man said, "Since you have a good heart, and are willing to share what you have, I will give you good luck. Over there is an old tree, cut it down, and you will find a treasure at its roots."

Then, the little man left.

Dummling cut down the tree, and at the bottom was a goose with feathers of pure gold.

He took her with him and went to an inn to stay the night.

The innkeeper had three daughters, who saw the goose and were curious, and wanted to have one of its golden feathers.

As soon as Dummling left the goose alone, the eldest daughter went to the goose and grabbed it by its wing and her hand instantly became stuck to it as though the feathers were coated with glue.

The second sister came into the room to get a feather, but the elder sister reached out to prevent her from touching the goose.

However, as soon as the sisters touched, they were stuck together as though they were glued.

Finally, the youngest came to get a feather, and the others screamed for her to keep away from the goose.

But, she did not understand why they were yelling at her.

She ran over to them but as soon as she touched her sisters, she became stuck to them.

So, they all had to spend the night with the goose.

The next morning Dummling took the goose under his arm and set off down the road.

He did not worry that there were three girls hanging on to the goose.

The girls were forced to run after Dummling to keep up with him and not pull the goose from his arms.

While walking through a field, the minister saw them and said, "Shame on you girls, why are chasing after this young man? That is not lady like."

Then, he grabbed the youngest girl's hand to pull her away from Dummling, but as soon as he touched her, he too became stuck to the others and had to join the group.

Soon, the deacon came by and saw the minister running with the three girls.

He was shocked and called out, "Your reverence, where are you going? We have a christening today at the church."

The deacon ran after the group and seized the minister's arm and he too became glued to the group.

Soon the group of five passed two men working in a field. The parson called out to them and begged for them to set him and the deacon free so that they could get back to the church for the christening.

But, once the men grabbed them to pull them away from the girls, the two men also became attached to the group.

Now there were seven people running behind Dummling and the goose.

Soon they came to a kingdom, where there was a princess who was so serious that no one could make her laugh.

Her father, the king, had put forth a decree that anyone who could make her laugh could marry her.

When Dummling heard this, he went with his goose and the seven people attached to it to see the Princess.

As soon as she saw the seven people running to keep up with the goose, she began to laugh quite loudly.

She sounded as if she would never stop.

Then Dummling asked the King for permission to marry his daughter.

The King said yes and threw a great engagement party in honor of his daughter and Dummling.

The entire kingdom attended the feast as well as Dummling's family and the little old grey man from the forest.

The little man used his magic to free the group of seven from the goose.

Then he presented the goose as a gift to Dummling and the Princess because Dummling had never tried to pluck any of the goose's golden feathers.

The next day Dummling and the Princess were married and they lived happily ever after.