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Grimms' Fairy Tales
Herr
Korbes
There were once a cock and a hen who wanted
to take a journey together. So the cock built a beautiful
carriage, which had four red wheels, and harnessed four
mice to it. The hen seated herself in it with the cock,
and they drove away together. Not long afterwards they met
a cat who said, "Where are you going?" The cock
replied, "We are going to the house of Herr Korbes."
"Take me with you," said the cat. The cock answered,
"Most willingly, get up behind, lest you fall off in
front. Take great care not to dirty my little red wheels.
And you little wheels, roll on, and you little mice pipe
out, as we go forth on our way to the house of Herr Korbes."
After this came a millstone, then an egg, then a duck,
then a pin, and at last a needle, who all seated themselves
in the carriage, and drove with them. When, however, they
reached the house of Herr Korbes, Herr Korbes was not there.
The mice drew the carriage into the barn, the hen flew with
the cock upon a perch. The cat sat down by the hearth, the
duck on the well-pole. The egg rolled itself into a towel,
the pin stuck itself into the chair-cushion, the needle
jumped on to the bed in the middle of the pillow, and the
millstone laid itself over the door. Then Herr Korbes came
home, went to the hearth, and was about to light the fire,
when the cat threw a quantity of ashes in his face. He ran
into the kitchen in a great hurry to wash it off, and the
duck splashed some water in his face. He wanted to dry it
with the towel, but the egg rolled up against him, broke,
and glued up his eyes. He wanted to rest, and sat down in
the chair, and then the pin pricked him. He fell in a passion,
and threw himself on his bed, but as soon as he laid his
head on the pillow, the needle pricked him, so that he screamed
aloud, and was just going to run out into the wide world
in his rage, but when he came to the house-door, the millstone
leapt down and struck him dead. Herr Korbes must have been
a very wicked man!
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:167-168 |
