The Golden Goose The Golden Goose of «Grimm's Fairy Stories» by Jacob Grimm: the whole text, 196 sentences and 5080 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself; 2 of them are in the tales treebank and were checked by a teacher model.
1 There was once a man who had three sons. 2 The youngest was called Dummerly, and was on all occasions scorned and ill-treated by the whole family. 3 It happened that the eldest took it into his head one day to go into the forest to cut wood; and his mother gave him a delicious meat pie and a bottle of wine to take with him, that he might sustain himself at his work. 4 As he went into the forest, a little old man bid him good day, and said, "Give me a little bit of meat from your plate, and a little wine out of your flask; I am very hungry and thirsty." 5 But this clever young man said, "Give you my meat and wine! 6 No, I thank you; there would not be enough left for me;" and he went on his way. 7 He soon began to chop down a tree; but he had not worked long before he missed his stroke, and cut himself, and was obliged to go home and have the wound bound up. 8 Now, it was the little old man who caused him this mischief. 9 Next the second son went out to work; and his mother gave him, too, a meat pie and a bottle of wine. 10 And the same little old man encountered him also, and begged him for something to eat and drink. 11 But he, too, thought himself extremely clever, and said, "Whatever you get, I shall be without; so go your way!" 12 The little man made sure that he should have his reward; and the second stroke that he struck at a tree, hit him on the leg, so that he too was compelled to go home. 13 Then Dummerly said, "Father, I should like to go and cut fuel too." 14 But his father replied, "Your brothers have both maimed themselves; you had better stop at home, for you know nothing of the job." 15 But Dummerly was very urgent; and at last his father said, "Go your way; you will be wiser when you have suffered for your foolishness." 16 And his mother gave him only some dry bread, and a bottle of sour ale; but when he went into the forest, he met the little old man, who said, "Give me some meat and drink, for I am very hungry and thirsty." 17 Dummerly said, "I have nothing but dry bread and sour beer; if that will do for you, we will sit down and eat it together." 18 So they sat down, and when the lad took out his bread, behold it was turned into a splendid meat pie, and his sour beer became delicious wine! 19 They ate and drank heartily, and when they had finished, the little man said, "As you have a kind heart, and have been willing to share everything with me I will bring good to you. 20 There stands an old tree; chop it down, and you will find something at the root." 21 Then he took his leave and went his way. 22 Dummerly set to work, and cut down the tree; and when it fell, he discovered in a hollow under the roots a goose with plumage of pure gold. 23 He took it up, and went on to an inn, where he proposed sleep for the night. 24 The landlord had three daughters, and when they saw the goose, they were very curious to find out what this wonderful bird could be, and wished very much to pluck one of the feathers out of its tail. 25 At last the eldest said, "I must and will have a feather." 26 So she waited till his back was turned, and then caught hold of the goose by the wing; but to her great surprise, there she stuck, for neither hand nor finger could she pull away again. 27 Presently in came the second sister, and thought to have a feather too; but the instant she touched her sister, there she too hung fast. 28 At last came the third, and desired a feather; but the other two cried out, "Keep away! for heaven's sake, keep away!" 29 However, she did not understand what they meant. " 30 If they are there," thought she, "I may as well be there too," so she went up to them. 31 But the moment she touched her sisters she stuck fast, and hung to the goose as they did. 32 And so they abode with the goose all night. 33 The next morning Dummerly carried off the goose under his arm, and took no heed of the three girls, but went out with them sticking fast behind; and wherever he journeyed, the three were obliged to follow, whether they wished or not, as fast as their legs could carry them. 34 In the middle of a field the parson met them; and when he saw the procession, he said, "Are you not ashamed of yourselves, you bold girls, to run after the young man like that over the fields? 35 Is that proper behavior?" 36 Then he took the youngest by the hand to lead her away; but the moment he touched her he, too, hung fast, and followed in the procession. 37 Presently up came the clerk; and when he saw his master, the parson, running after the three girls, he was greatly surprised, and said, "Hollo! hollo! your reverence! whither so fast! 38 There is a christening to-day." 39 Then he ran up, and caught him by the gown, and instantly he was fast too. 40 As the five were thus trudging along, one after another, they met two laborers with their mattocks coming from work; and the parson called out to them to set him free. 41 But hardly had they touched him, when they, too, joined the ranks, and so made seven, all running after Dummerly and his goose. 42 At last they came to a city, where reigned a King who had an only daughter. 43 The princess was of so thoughtful and serious a turn of mind that no one could make her laugh; and the King had announced to all the world that whoever could make her laugh should have her for his wife. 44 When the young man heard this, he went to her with the goose and all its followers; and as soon as she saw the seven all hanging together, and running about, treading on each other's heels, she could not help bursting into a long and loud laugh. 45 Then Dummerly claimed her for his bride; the wedding took place, and he was heir to the kingdom, and lived long and happily with his wife. 46 BEARSKIN 47 There was once upon a time a young fellow who enlisted for a soldier, and became so brave and courageous that he was always in the front ranks when it rained blue beans. 48 [1] As long as the war lasted all went well, but when peace was concluded he received his discharge, and the captain told him he might go where he liked. 49 His parents meanwhile had died, and as he had no longer any home to go to he paid a visit to his brothers, and asked them to give him shelter until war broke out again. 50 His brothers, however, were hard-hearted, and said, "What could we do with you? 51 We could make nothing of you; see to what you have brought yourself"; and so turned a deaf ear. 52 The poor Soldier had nothing but his musket left; so he mounted this on his shoulder and set out on a tramp. 53 By and by he came to a great heath with nothing on it but a circle of trees, under which he sat down, sorrowfully considering his fate. " 54 I have no money," thought he; "I have learnt nothing but soldiering, and now, since peace is concluded, there is no need of me. 55 I see well enough I shall have to starve." 56 All at once he heard a rustling, and as he looked round he perceived a stranger standing before him, dressed in a gray coat, who looked very stately, but had an ugly cloven foot. " 57 I know quite well what you need," said this being; "gold and other possessions you shall have, as much as you can spend; but first I must know whether you are a coward or not, that I may not spend my money foolishly." 58 "A soldier and a coward!" replied the other, "that cannot be; you may put me to any proof." 59 "Well, then," replied the stranger, "look behind you." 60 [Footnote 1: Small shot.] 61 The Soldier turned and saw a huge bear, which eyed him very ferociously. " 62 Oho!" cried he, "I will tickle your nose for you, that you shall no longer be able to grumble"; and, raising his musket, he shot the bear in the forehead, so that he tumbled in a heap upon the ground, and did not stir afterward. 63 Thereupon the stranger said, "I see quite well that you are not wanting in courage; but there is yet one condition which you must fulfil." " 64 If it does not interfere with my future happiness," said the Soldier, who had remarked who it was that addressed him; "if it does not interfere with that, I shall not hesitate." 65 "That you must see about yourself!" said the stranger. " 66 For the next seven years you must not wash yourself, nor comb your hair or beard, neither must you cut your nails nor say one paternoster. 67 Then I will give you this coat and mantle, which you must wear during these seven years; and if you die within that time you are mine, but if you live you are rich, and free all your life long." 68 The Soldier reflected for awhile on his great necessities, and, remembering how often he had braved death, he at length consented, and ventured to accept the offer. 69 Thereupon the Evil One pulled off the gray coat, handed it to the soldier, and said, "If you at any time search in the pockets of your coat when you have it on, you will always find your hand full of money." 70 Then also he pulled off the skin of the bear, and said, "That shall be your cloak and your bed; you must sleep on it, and not dare to lie in any other bed, and on this account you shall be called 'Bearskin.'" 71 Immediately the Evil One disappeared. 72 The Soldier now put on the coat, and dipped his hands into the pockets, to assure himself of the reality of the transaction. 73 Then he hung the bearskin around himself, and went about the world chuckling at his good luck, and buying whatever suited his fancy which money could purchase. 74 For the first year his appearance was not very remarkable, but in the second he began to look quite a monster. 75 His hair covered almost all his face, his beard appeared like a piece of dirty cloth, his nails were claws, and his countenance was so covered with dirt that one might have grown cresses upon it if one had sown seed! 76 Whoever looked at him ran away; but because he gave the poor in every place gold coin they prayed that he might not die during the seven years; and because he paid liberally everywhere, he found a night's lodging without difficulty. 77 In the fourth year he came to an inn where the landlord would not take him in, and refused even to give him a place in his stables, lest the horses should be frightened and become restive. 78 However, when Bearskin put his hand into his pocket and drew it out full of gold ducats the landlord yielded the point, and gave him a place in the outbuildings, but not till he had promised that he would not show himself, for fear the inn should gain a bad name. 79 While Bearskin sat by himself in the evening, wishing from his heart that the seven years were over, he heard in the corner a loud groan. 80 Now the old Soldier had a compassionate heart, so he opened the door and saw an old man weeping violently and wringing his hands. 81 Bearskin stepped nearer, but the old man jumped up and tried to escape; but when he recognized a human voice he let himself be persuaded, and by kind words and soothings on the part of the old Soldier he at length disclosed the cause of his distress. 82 His property had dwindled away by degrees, and he and his daughters would have to starve, for he was so poor that he had not the money to pay the host, and would therefore be put into prison. 83 "If you have no care except that," replied Bearskin, "I have money enough"; and causing the landlord to be called, he paid him, and put a purse full of gold besides into the pocket of the old man. 84 The latter, when he saw himself released from his troubles, knew not how to be sufficiently grateful, and said to the Soldier, "Come with me; my daughters are all wonders of beauty, so choose one of them for a wife. 85 When they hear what you have done for me they will not refuse you. 86 You appear certainly an uncommon man, but they will soon put you to rights." 87 This speech pleased Bearskin, and he went with the old man. 88 As soon as the eldest daughter saw him, she was so terrified at his countenance that she shrieked out and ran away. 89 The second one stopped and looked at him from head to foot; but at last she said, "How can I take a husband who has not a bit of a human countenance? 90 The grizzly bear would have pleased me better who came to see us once, and gave himself out as a man, for he wore a hussar's hat, and had white gloves on besides." 91 But the youngest daughter said, "Dear father, this must be a good man who has assisted you out of your troubles; if you have promised him a bride for the service your word must be kept" 92 It was a pity the man's face was covered with dirt and hair, else one would have seen how glad at heart these words made him. 93 Bearskin took a ring off his finger, broke it in two, and, giving the youngest daughter one half, he kept the other for himself. 94 On her half he wrote his name, and on his own he wrote hers, and begged her to preserve it carefully. 95 Thereupon he took leave, saying, "For three years longer I must wander about; if I come back again, then we will celebrate our wedding; but if I do not, you are free, for I shall be dead. 96 But pray to God that he will preserve my life." 97 When he was gone the poor bride clothed herself in black, and whenever she thought of her bridegroom burst into tears. 98 From her sisters she received nothing but scorn and mocking. " 99 Pay great attention when he shakes your hand," said the eldest, "and you will see his beautiful claws!" " 100 Take care!" said the second, "bears are fond of sweets, and if you please him he will eat you up, perhaps!" " ← previous Little Red Capnext → Faithful John↑ back to Grimm's Fairy Stories This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg11027/15/