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GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE
by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm
Electronically Enhanced Text (c) Copyright 1996, World Library(R)
THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE
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ONCE on a time, a mouse and a bird and a sausage lived and kept
house together in perfect peace among themselves, and in great
prosperity. It was the bird's business to fly to the forest every
day and bring back wood; the mouse had to draw the water, make the
fire, and set the table; and the sausage had to do the cooking. Nobody
is content in this world; much will have more! One day the bird met
another bird on the way, and told him of his excellent condition in
life. But the other bird called him a poor simpleton to do so much
work, while the two others led easy lives at home.
When the mouse had made up her fire and drawn water, she went to
rest in her little room until it was time to lay the cloth. The
sausage stayed by the saucepans, looked to it that the victuals were
well cooked, and just before dinner-time he stirred the broth or the
stew three or four times well round himself, so as to enrich and
season and flavor it. Then the bird used to come home and lay down his
load, and they sat down to table, and after a good meal they would
go to bed and sleep their fill till the next morning. It really was
a most satisfactory life.
But the bird came to the resolution next day never again to fetch
wood. He had, he said, been their slave long enough; now they must
change about and make a new arrangement. So in spite of all the
mouse and the sausage could say, the bird was determined to have his
own way. So they drew lots to settle it, and it fell so that the
sausage was to fetch wood, the mouse was to cook, and the bird was
to draw water.
Now see what happened. The sausage went away after wood, the bird
made up the fire, and the mouse put on the pot, and they waited
until the sausage should come home, bringing the wood for the next
day. But the sausage was absent so long, that they thought something
must have happened to him, and the bird went part of the way to see if
he could see anything of him. Not far off he met with a dog on the
road, who, looking upon the sausage as lawful prey, had picked him up,
and made an end of him. The bird then lodged a complaint against the
dog as an open and flagrant robber, but it was all no good, as the dog
declared that he had found forged letters upon the sausage, so that he
deserved to lose his life.
The bird then very sadly took up the wood and carried it home
himself, and related to the mouse all he had seen and heard. They were
both very troubled, but determined to look on the bright side of
things, and still to remain together. And so the bird laid the
cloth, and the mouse prepared the food, and finally got into the
pot, as the sausage used to do, to stir and flavor the broth; but then
she had to part with fur and skin, and lastly with life!
And when the bird came to dish up the dinner, there was no cook to
be seen; and he turned over the heap of wood, and looked and looked,
but the cook never appeared again. By accident the wood caught fire,
and the bird hastened to fetch water to put it out, but he let fall
the bucket in the well, and himself after it, and as he could not
get out again, he was obliged to be drowned.
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THE END
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