格林童话选 英文版 Grimms' Fairy Tales
格林兄弟 Brüder Grimm
THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR
One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by thewindow; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Thencame a peasant woman down the street crying: 'Good jams, cheap! Goodjams, cheap!' This rang pleasantly in the tailor's ears; he stretchedhis delicate head out of the window, and called: 'Come up here, dearwoman; here you will get rid of your goods.' The woman came up thethree steps to the tailor with her heavy basket, and he made herunpack all the pots for him. He inspected each one, lifted it up, puthis nose to it, and at length said: 'The jam seems to me to be good,so weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of apound that is of no consequence.' The woman who had hoped to find agood sale, gave him what he desired, but went away quite angry andgrumbling. 'Now, this jam shall be blessed by God,' cried the littletailor, 'and give me health and strength'; so he brought the bread outof the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and spreadthe jam over it. 'This won't taste bitter,' said he, 'but I will justfinish the jacket before I take a bite.' He laid the bread near him,sewed on, and in his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. In themeantime the smell of the sweet jam rose to where the flies weresitting in great numbers, and they were attracted and descended on itin hosts. 'Hi! who invited you?' said the little tailor, and drove theunbidden guests away. The flies, however, who understood no German,would not be turned away, but came back again in ever-increasingcompanies. The little tailor at last lost all patience, and drew apiece of cloth from the hole under his work-table, and saying: 'Wait,and I will give it to you,' struck it mercilessly on them. When hedrew it away and counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven,dead and with legs stretched out. 'Are you a fellow of that sort?'said he, and could not help admiring his own bravery. 'The whole townshall know of this!' And the little tailor hastened to cut himself agirdle, stitched it, and embroidered on it in large letters: 'Seven atone stroke!' 'What, the town!' he continued, 'the whole world shallhear of it!' and his heart wagged with joy like a lamb's tail. Thetailor put on the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world,because he thought his workshop was too small for his valour. Beforehe went away, he sought about in the house to see if there wasanything which he could take with him; however, he found nothing butan old cheese, and that he put in his pocket. In front of the door heobserved a bird which had caught itself in the thicket. It had to gointo his pocket with the cheese. Now he took to the road boldly, andas he was light and nimble, he felt no fatigue. The road led him up amountain, and when he had reached the highest point of it, there sat apowerful giant looking peacefully about him. The little tailor wentbravely up, spoke to him, and said: 'Good day, comrade, so you aresitting there overlooking the wide-spread world! I am just on my waythither, and want to try my luck. Have you any inclination to go withme?' The giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said: 'Youragamuffin! You miserable creature!'
'Oh, indeed?' answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat, andshowed the giant the girdle, 'there may you read what kind of a man Iam!' The giant read: 'Seven at one stroke,' and thought that they hadbeen men whom the tailor had killed, and began to feel a littlerespect for the tiny fellow. Nevertheless, he wished to try him first,and took a stone in his hand and squeezed it together so that waterdropped out of it. 'Do that likewise,' said the giant, 'if you havestrength.' 'Is that all?' said the tailor, 'that is child's play withus!' and put his hand into his pocket, brought out the soft cheese,and pressed it until the liquid ran out of it. 'Faith,' said he, 'thatwas a little better, wasn't it?' The giant did not know what to say,and could not believe it of the little man. Then the giant picked up astone and threw it so high that the eye could scarcely follow it.'Now, little mite of a man, do that likewise,' 'Well thrown,' said thetailor, 'but after all the stone came down to earth again; I willthrow you one which shall never come back at all,' and he put his handinto his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. Thebird, delighted with its liberty, rose, flew away and did not comeback. 'How does that shot please you, comrade?' asked the tailor. 'Youcan certainly throw,' said the giant, 'but now we will see if you areable to carry anything properly.' He took the little tailor to amighty oak tree which lay there felled on the ground, and said: 'Ifyou are strong enough, help me to carry the tree out of the forest.''Readily,' answered the little man; 'take you the trunk on yourshoulders, and I will raise up the branches and twigs; after all, theyare the heaviest.' The giant took the trunk on his shoulder, but thetailor seated himself on a branch, and the giant, who could not lookround, had to carry away the whole tree, and the little tailor intothe bargain: he behind, was quite merry and happy, and whistled thesong: 'Three tailors rode forth from the gate,' as if carrying thetree were child's play. The giant, after he had dragged the heavyburden part of the way, could go no further, and cried: 'Hark you, Ishall have to let the tree fall!' The tailor sprang nimbly down,seized the tree with both arms as if he had been carrying it, and saidto the giant: 'You are such a great fellow, and yet cannot even carrythe tree!'
They went on together, and as they passed a cherry-tree, the giantlaid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was hanging,bent it down, gave it into the tailor's hand, and bade him eat. Butthe little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree, and when thegiant let it go, it sprang back again, and the tailor was tossed intothe air with it. When he had fallen down again without injury, thegiant said: 'What is this? Have you not strength enough to hold theweak twig?' 'There is no lack of strength,' answered the littletailor. 'Do you think that could be anything to a man who has struckdown seven at one blow? I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen areshooting down there in the thicket. Jump as I did, if you can do it.'The giant made the attempt but he could not get over the tree, andremained hanging in the branches, so that in this also the tailor keptthe upper hand.
The giant said: 'If you are such a valiant fellow, come with me intoour cavern and spend the night with us.' The little tailor waswilling, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other giantswere sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted sheepin his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round andthought: 'It is much more spacious here than in my workshop.' Thegiant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it and sleep.The bed, however, was too big for the little tailor; he did not liedown in it, but crept into a corner. When it was midnight, and thegiant thought that the little tailor was lying in a sound sleep, hegot up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, andthought he had finished off the grasshopper for good. With theearliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had quite forgottenthe little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them quite merrilyand boldly. The giants were terrified, they were afraid that he wouldstrike them all dead, and ran away in a great hurry.
The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose.After he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard of aroyal palace, and as he felt weary, he lay down on the grass and fellasleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected him on allsides, and read on his girdle: 'Seven at one stroke.' 'Ah!' said they,'what does the great warrior want here in the midst of peace? He mustbe a mighty lord.' They went and announced him to the king, and gaveit as their opinion that if war should break out, this would be aweighty and useful man who ought on no account to be allowed todepart. The counsel pleased the king, and he sent one of his courtiersto the little tailor to offer him military service when he awoke. Theambassador remained standing by the sleeper, waited until he stretchedhis limbs and opened his eyes, and then conveyed to him this proposal.'For this very reason have I come here,' the tailor replied, 'I amready to enter the king's service.' He was therefore honourablyreceived, and a special dwelling was assigned him.
The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wishedhim a thousand miles away. 'What is to be the end of this?' they saidamong themselves. 'If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him,seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand againsthim.' They came therefore to a decision, betook themselves in a bodyto the king, and begged for their dismissal. 'We are not prepared,'said they, 'to stay with a man who kills seven at one stroke.' Theking was sorry that for the sake of one he should lose all hisfaithful servants, wished that he had never set eyes on the tailor,and would willingly have been rid of him again. But he did not ventureto give him his dismissal, for he dreaded lest he should strike himand all his people dead, and place himself on the royal throne. Hethought about it for a long time, and at last found good counsel. Hesent to the little tailor and caused him to be informed that as he wasa great warrior, he had one request to make to him. In a forest of hiscountry lived two giants, who caused great mischief with theirrobbing, murdering, ravaging, and burning, and no one could approachthem without putting himself in danger of death. If the tailorconquered and killed these two giants, he would give him his onlydaughter to wife, and half of his kingdom as a dowry, likewise onehundred horsemen should go with him to assist him. 'That would indeedbe a fine thing for a man like me!' thought the little tailor. 'One isnot offered a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one'slife!' 'Oh, yes,' he replied, 'I will soon subdue the giants, and donot require the help of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who can hitseven with one blow has no need to be afraid of two.'
The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen followed him.When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his followers:'Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the giants.'Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right and left. Aftera while he perceived both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, andsnored so that the branches waved up and down. The little tailor, notidle, gathered two pocketsful of stones, and with these climbed up thetree. When he was halfway up, he slipped down by a branch, until hesat just above the sleepers, and then let one stone after another fallon the breast of one of the giants. For a long time the giant feltnothing, but at last he awoke, pushed his comrade, and said: 'Why areyou knocking me?' 'You must be dreaming,' said the other, 'I am notknocking you.' They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then thetailor threw a stone down on the second. 'What is the meaning ofthis?' cried the other 'Why are you pelting me?' 'I am not peltingyou,' answered the first, growling. They disputed about it for a time,but as they were weary they let the matter rest, and their eyes closedonce more. The little tailor began his game again, picked out thebiggest stone, and threw it with all his might on the breast of thefirst giant. 'That is too bad!' cried he, and sprang up like a madman,and pushed his companion against the tree until it shook. The otherpaid him back in the same coin, and they got into such a rage thatthey tore up trees and belaboured each other so long, that at lastthey both fell down dead on the ground at the same time. Then thelittle tailor leapt down. 'It is a lucky thing,' said he, 'that theydid not tear up the tree on which I was sitting, or I should have hadto sprint on to another like a squirrel; but we tailors are nimble.'He drew out his sword and gave each of them a couple of thrusts in thebreast, and then went out to the horsemen and said: 'The work is done;I have finished both of them off, but it was hard work! They tore uptrees in their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but allthat is to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who can kill sevenat one blow.' 'But are you not wounded?' asked the horsemen. 'You neednot concern yourself about that,' answered the tailor, 'they have notbent one hair of mine.' The horsemen would not believe him, and rodeinto the forest; there they found the giants swimming in their blood,and all round about lay the torn-up trees.
The little tailor demanded of the king the promised reward; he,however, repented of his promise, and again bethought himself how hecould get rid of the hero. 'Before you receive my daughter, and thehalf of my kingdom,' said he to him, 'you must perform one more heroicdeed. In the forest roams a unicorn which does great harm, and youmust catch it first.' 'I fear one unicorn still less than two giants.Seven at one blow, is my kind of affair.' He took a rope and an axewith him, went forth into the forest, and again bade those who weresent with him to wait outside. He had not long to seek. The unicornsoon came towards him, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if itwould gore him with its horn without more ado. 'Softly, softly; itcan't be done as quickly as that,' said he, and stood still and waiteduntil the animal was quite close, and then sprang nimbly behind thetree. The unicorn ran against the tree with all its strength, andstuck its horn so fast in the trunk that it had not the strengthenough to draw it out again, and thus it was caught. 'Now, I have gotthe bird,' said the tailor, and came out from behind the tree and putthe rope round its neck, and then with his axe he hewed the horn outof the tree, and when all was ready he led the beast away and took itto the king.
After some time the young queen heard her husband say in his dreams atnight: 'Boy, make me the doublet, and patch the pantaloons, or else Iwill rap the yard-measure over your ears.' Then she discovered in whatstate of life the young lord had been born, and next morningcomplained of her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her toget rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The kingcomforted her and said: 'Leave your bedroom door open this night, andmy servants shall stand outside, and when he has fallen asleep shallgo in, bind him, and take him on board a ship which shall carry himinto the wide world.' The woman was satisfied with this; but theking's armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the younglord, and informed him of the whole plot. 'I'll put a screw into thatbusiness,' said the little tailor. At night he went to bed with hiswife at the usual time, and when she thought that he had fallenasleep, she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. Thelittle tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry outin a clear voice: 'Boy, make me the doublet and patch me thepantaloons, or I will rap the yard-measure over your ears. I smoteseven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away one unicorn,and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear those who are standingoutside the room.' When these men heard the tailor speaking thus, theywere overcome by a great dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman werebehind them, and none of them would venture anything further againsthim. So the little tailor was and remained a king to the end of hislife.