Selected Tales of the Brothers Grimm(18)

THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR





One summer morning a little tailor sat contented at his table by the window, sewing up a storm. Then a peasant woman came walking down the street and called out, “Good jam for sale! Good jam for sale!”

The little tailor liked the sound of it, so he poked his wisp of a head out the window and called to her: “Up here, good woman, you can load it off on me.”

The woman lugged her heavy basket the three flights up to the tailor’s place and unpacked all her pots before him. He looked them over, picked them up, practically planted his nose in the sweet stuff, and finally said, “The jam looks delicious. Dish me out four ounces, good woman, and if it comes to a quarter pound, I don’t mind.” The woman, who had hoped to sell him a considerable amount, gave him what he asked for but went away grim-faced and grumpy. “Let this jam be blessed by God,” prayed the tailor, “and let it give me force and strength,” whereupon he proceeded to fetch a loaf of bread from the cupboard, cut himself a slice, and spread it with the jam. “It will sweeten my day,” he said, “but first let me finish sewing my jacket before I take a bite.”

So he lay the slice of bread beside him, kept on sewing, and feeling giddy with joy, sewed larger and larger stitches. Meanwhile the scent of the sweet jam wafted up the wall, where flies gathered in ever greater number, and lured below, swarms of them pounced on it. “Hey, who invited you to the table?” said the tailor and swished away his uninvited guests. But the flies, who understood no German, would not let themselves be dissuaded from dining, returning in ever greater numbers. Finally the tailor was, as they say, at his wit’s end, so he fetched a flys watter from a drawer, and muttering “Here’s your just dessert!” came down with a merciless swat. When he lifted the swatter and counted his quarry, no less than seven lay there with outstretched legs. “Well, will you get a load of that!” he said, admiring his prowess. “I’m gonna let the whole town know!” So the little tailor hastily cut himself a belt, and stitched and embroidered a logo on the leather in big letters: “Seven with one blow!” “Never mind the city!” he cheered himself on, “I’m going to let the whole world know!” And his heart beat for joy in his breast like a little lamb’s tail.



The tailor bound the belt around his waist and decided to go out into the world, for he felt that his workshop was just too small for such prowess as his. Before leaving, he looked around to see if there was anything he might take along, but all he found was an old hunk of cheese, which he thought might come in handy. Outside, in front of his door, he noticed a bird caught in a bush, and he packed it along with the cheese.

Whereupon he bravely sallied forth, and being light and nimble, he felt no fatigue. The path led him up a mountain, and when he reached the summit there sat a mighty giant taking his ease. Feeling feisty, the little tailor went right up to him, greeted him, and said, “Splendid day, isn’t it, my friend, to sit around surveying the big, wide world! I’ve just set out to try my luck. Would you like to come along?”

The giant eyed the tailor with disdain and said, “You worm! You miserable wretch!”

“That does it!” replied the little tailor, then unbuttoned his jacket and showed the giant his belt. “You can read with your own eyes what kind of stuff I’m made of.”

The giant read “Seven with one blow,” figured it meant seven men felled by the tailor, and felt a modicum of respect for the little fellow. Still, he wanted to put him to the test, and taking a stone in hand, pressed it hard until the water dripped out. “Do as I did,” said the giant, “if you’re strong enough.”

“Is that all?” said the tailor. “That’s child’s play!” He shrugged, reached in his pocket, fetched out the hunk of soft cheese, and pressed it until the whey dripped out. “Well what do you think of that!”

The giant was speechless, unable to believe his eyes. Then he picked up a stone and hurled it so high you could hardly still see it. “All right, little munchkin, match that!”

“Not bad,” said the tailor, “but the stone fell back down to earth again. I’ll hurl one that’ll never fall down.” He reached into his pocket, grabbed the bird, and tossed it into the air. Happy to have found its freedom again, the bird took flight and didn’t come back. “What do you think of that, pal!” said the tailor.

“You can throw all right,” replied the giant, “but let’s see what you can lift.” So he led the tailor to a mighty oak tree felled and lying flat on the ground. “If you’ve got the muscle, help me carry the tree out of the forest.”