"The Valiant Tailor" Part 1 - The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

A Tailor was sitting on his table at the window one summer morning. He was a good fellow, and stitched with all his might. A peasant woman came down the street, crying, ' Good jam for sale ! good jam for sale ! '

This had a pleasant sound in the Tailor's ears ; he put his pale face out of the window, and cried, ' You'll find a sale for your wares up here, good Woman.'

The Woman went up the three steps to the Tailor, with the heavy basket on her head, and he made her unpack all her pots. He examined them all, lifted them up, smelt them, and at last said, ' The jam seems good ; weigh me out four ounces, good Woman, and should it come over the quarter pound, it will be all the same to me.'

The Woman, who had hoped for a better sale, gave him what he asked for, but went away cross, and grumbling to herself.

' That jam will be a blessing to me,' cried the Tailor ; 'it will give me strength and power.' He brought his bread out of the cupboard, cut a whole slice, and spread the jam on it. ' It won't be a bitter morsel,' said he, ' but I will finish this waistcoat before I stick my teeth into it.'

He put the bread down by his side, and went on with his sewing, but in his joy the stitches got bigger and bigger. The smell of the jam rose to the wall, where the flies were clustered in swarms, and tempted them to come down, and they settled on the jam in masses.

' Ah ! who invited you ? ' cried the Tailor, chasing away his unbidden guests. But the flies, who did not understand his language, were not to be got rid of so easily, and came back in greater numbers than ever. At last the Tailor came to the end of his patience, and seizing a bit of cloth, he cried, ' Wait a bit, and I'll give it you ! ' So saying, he struck out at them mercilessly. When he looked, he found no fewer than seven dead and motionless. ' So that's the kind of fellow you are,' he said, admiring his own valour. 'The whole town shall know of this.'

In great haste he cut out a belt for himself, and stitched on it, in big letters, ' Seven at one blow ! ' ' The town ! ' he then said, ' the whole world shall know of it ! ' And his heart wagged for very joy like the tail of a lamb. The Tailor fastened the belt round his waist, and wanted to start out into the world at once ; he found his workshop too small for his valour. Before starting, he searched the house to see if there was anything to take with him. He only found an old cheese, but this he put into his pocket. By the gate he saw a bird entangled in a thicket, and he put that into his pocket with the cheese. Then he boldly took to the road, and as he was light and active, he felt no fatigue. The road led up a mountain, and when he reached the highest point, he found a huge Giant sitting there comfortably looking round him.

The Tailor went pluckily up to him, and addressed him.

' Good-day, Comrade, you are sitting there surveying the wide world, I suppose. I am just on my way to try my luck. Do you feel inclined to go with me ? '

The Giant looked scornfully at the Tailor, and said, ' You jackanapes ! you miserable ragamuffin ! '

' That may be,' said the Tailor, unbuttoning his coat and showing the Giant his belt. ' You may just read what kind of fellow I am.'

The Giant read, ' Seven at one blow,' and thought that it was people the Tailor had slain ; so it gave him a certain amount of respect for the little fellow. Still, he thought he would try him ; so he picked up a stone and squeezed it till the water dropped out of it.

' Do that,' he said, ' if you have the strength.'

' No more than that ! ' said the Tailor ; ' why, it 's a mere joke to me.'

He put his hand into his pocket, and pulling out the bit of soft cheese, he squeezed it till the moisture ran out.

' I guess that will equal you,' said he.

The Giant did not know what to say, and could not have believed it of the little man.

Then the Giant picked up a stone, and threw it up so high that one could scarcely follow it with the eye.

' Now, then, you sample of a mannikin, do that after me.'

' Well thrown ! ' said the Tailor, ' but the stone fell to the ground again. Now I will throw one for you which will never come back again.'

So saying, he put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, rejoiced at its freedom, soared into the air, and was never seen again.

' What do you think of that. Comrade ? ' asked the Tailor.

' You can certainly throw ; but now we will see if you are in a condition to carry anything,' said the Giant.

He led the Tailor to a mighty oak which had been felled, and which lay upon the ground.

' If you are strong enough, help me out of the wood with this tree,' he said.

' Willingly,' answered the little man. ' You take the trunk on your shoulder, and I will take the branches ; they must certainly be the heaviest.'