The Golden Goose

Once upon a time, there was a man who had three sons. The two older sons thought they were very clever. Everyone called the youngest son Dummling because they thought he was foolish. They often laughed at him and did not take him seriously.

One day, the oldest son went into the forest to cut wood. His mother gave him a delicious cake and a bottle of wine.

In the forest, he met a little old man with gray hair.

The little man said:

“Good day! I am very hungry and thirsty. Can you give me some of your cake and wine?”

The oldest son answered:

“If I give you some, I will have less for myself. Go away!”

He walked on and started cutting down a tree. But suddenly, his axe slipped and hurt his arm. He had to go home.

The next day, the second son went into the forest. His mother also gave him cake and wine.

He met the same little gray man. But he did not want to share either.

When he started cutting wood, he hurt his leg with the axe and had to be carried home.

Now Dummling wanted to try.

His father said:

“Your brothers got hurt. You know even less about cutting wood!”

But Dummling kept asking until his father finally let him go.

His mother gave him only a simple cake baked in ashes and a bottle of sour beer.

In the forest, Dummling also met the little gray man.

“Can you give me something to eat and drink?” the little man asked.

Dummling answered kindly:

“I only have a simple cake and sour beer. But if you like, we can share everything.”

They sat down together. When Dummling took out his cake, it had magically turned into a delicious cake made with eggs! And the sour beer had turned into good wine.

The little man said:

“You have a good heart and like to share. So I want to give you some good luck. There is an old tree over there. Cut it down, and you will find something special.”

Dummling thanked him and went to the tree.

Dummling cut down the old tree. Between its roots, he found something wonderful: a goose with feathers made of pure gold!

He took the golden goose with him and went to an inn to spend the night.

The innkeeper had three daughters. When they saw the golden goose, all three wanted a golden feather.

The oldest daughter thought:

“When the boy is not looking, I will take a feather.”

When Dummling went outside for a moment, she touched the goose's wing.

But suddenly, her hand stuck to the goose! She could not pull it away.

Soon the second daughter came.

“I want a golden feather too!” she said.

She touched her sister and got stuck as well.

Then the youngest daughter came.

The other two shouted:

“Stay away! Don't touch us!”

But the youngest did not listen. She touched her sister and got stuck too.

Now all three sisters were stuck together and to the golden goose.

They had to stay like that all night.

The next morning, Dummling picked up the goose and continued his journey. The three sisters had to follow him because they could not get free.

Dummling walked across a field with his golden goose. The three sisters followed behind him.

Then a priest came along.

When he saw the three girls, he called:

“What are you doing? Why are you following this young man everywhere?”

He took the youngest sister's hand to pull her away.

But suddenly, he got stuck too!

Now the priest had to follow Dummling as well.

A little later, a church helper came along. He saw the priest and called:

“Father! Where are you going so fast? We still have a baptism today!”

He grabbed the priest's sleeve and got stuck too.

Soon two farmers came from the fields. The priest called:

“Help us! Pull us apart!”

The farmers tried to help. But as soon as they touched the church helper, they got stuck too.

Now seven people were following Dummling and his golden goose!

They pulled at one another, but nobody could get free.

Soon they reached a town where a king lived with his daughter.

The princess was very serious and had never laughed. So the king had promised:

“Whoever makes my daughter laugh may marry her!”

When Dummling heard this, he went to the castle with his golden goose and the long line of people.

The princess looked out of the window.

When she saw the seven people running behind one another, unable to get free, she suddenly began to laugh.

“Ha, ha, ha! How funny!”

She laughed so much that she could not stop.

Dummling was happy and wanted to marry the princess.

But the king did not want his daughter to marry Dummling so easily. So he gave Dummling a difficult task.

The king said:

“If you want to marry my daughter, you must first find someone who can drink a whole cellar full of wine!”

Dummling did not know how to do this. Then he remembered the kind little gray man in the forest.

He went back to the place where he had found the golden goose.

There he saw a man who looked very sad.

Dummling asked:

“Why are you so sad?”

The man answered:

“I am terribly thirsty! I have already drunk a whole barrel of wine, but I am still thirsty.”

Dummling said:

“Then come with me! I know a place where you can drink as much as you like.”

He took the man to the king's wine cellar.

The man drank and drank. Before the day was over, he had emptied the whole cellar!

Dummling went to the king and asked to marry the princess.

But the king gave him another task:

“Find someone who can eat a huge mountain of bread!”

Dummling went back into the forest.

There he saw another man who had tied a belt tightly around his stomach.

“Why are you doing that?” Dummling asked.

The man answered:

“I am so hungry! I have already eaten a whole oven full of bread, but I am still hungry.”

Dummling said:

“Then come with me! You can have as much bread as you can eat.”

The king had a huge mountain of bread baked.

The hungry man began to eat. He ate and ate until, by the end of the day, not a single piece of bread was left.

But the king still did not want to keep his promise.

So he gave Dummling a third task.

The king said:

“You must bring me a ship that can travel both on water and on land. Only then may you marry my daughter!”

Dummling went back into the forest. He hoped the little gray man could help him.

This time, he met the same little man with whom he had shared his cake.

The little man said:

“You shared your food and drink with me. That is why I promised to bring you good luck.”

He smiled and continued:

“You have completed the first two tasks. Now I will help you with the last one.”

Then he gave Dummling a special ship. It could sail on water and travel across land!

Dummling took the magic ship to the castle.

When the king saw the wonderful ship, he could not think of another excuse.

He had to keep his promise.

Dummling was allowed to marry the princess.

There was a big wedding, and everyone was happy.

Later, when the king died, Dummling became king himself.

He and the princess lived happily together for many years.

The story teaches us that the cleverest or richest person is not always the luckiest. When we have a good heart, are kind, and share with others, good things can happen to us.