{So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their Father good-bye, and passed out of the town gate.}]
The Four Clever Brothers
There was once a poor man who had four sons, and when they were grownup, he said to them: 'Dear children, you must go out into the worldnow, for I have nothing to give you. You must each learn a trade andmake your own way in the world.'
So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bid theirfather good-bye, and passed out of the town gate.
When they had walked some distance, they came to four cross roads,which led into four different districts. Then the eldest one said: 'Wemust part here, but this day four years, we will meet here again,having in the meantime done our best to make our fortunes.'
Then each one went his own way. The eldest met an old man, who askedhim where he came from, and what he was going to do.
'I want to learn a trade,' he answered.
Then the Man said: 'Come with me and learn to be a Thief.'
'No,' answered he, 'that is no longer considered an honest trade; andthe end of that song would be that I should swing as the clapper in abell.'
'Oh,' said the Man, 'you need not be afraid of the gallows. I willonly teach you how to take things no one else wants, or knows how toget hold of, and where no one can find you out.'
So he allowed himself to be persuaded, and under the Man'sinstructions he became such an expert thief that nothing was safe fromhim which he had once made up his mind to have.
The second Brother met a Man who put the same question to him, as towhat he was going to do in the world.
'I don't know yet,' he answered.
'Then come with me and be a Star-gazer. It is the grandest thing inthe world, nothing is hidden from you.'
He was pleased with the idea, and became such a clever Star-gazer,that when he had learnt everything and wanted to go away, his mastergave him a telescope, and said--
'With this you can see everything that happens in the sky and onearth, and nothing can remain hidden from you.'
The third Brother was taken in hand by a Huntsman, who taught himeverything connected with sport so well, that he became a first-rateHuntsman.
On his departure his master presented him with a gun, and said: 'Thisgun will never miss: whatever you aim at you will hit without fail.'
The youngest Brother also met a Man who asked him what he was going todo.
'Wouldn't you like to be a Tailor?' he asked.
'I don't know about that,' said the young man. 'I don't much fancysitting cross-legged from morning till night, and everlastinglypulling a needle in and out, and pushing a flat iron.'
'Dear, dear!' said the Man, 'what are you talking about? If you cometo me you will learn quite a different sort of tailoring. It is a mostpleasant and agreeable trade, not to say most honourable.'
So he allowed himself to be talked over, and went with the Man, whotaught him his trade thoroughly.
On his departure, he gave him a needle, and said: 'With this needleyou will be able to stitch anything together, be it as soft as an egg,or as hard as steel; and it will become like a whole piece of stuffwith no seam visible.'
When the four years, which the Brothers had agreed upon, had passed,they met at the cross-roads. They embraced one another and hurriedhome to their Father.
'Well!' said he, quite pleased to see them, 'has the wind wafted youback to me again?'
They told him all that had happened to them, and that each hadmastered a trade. They were sitting in front of the house under a bigtree, and their Father said--
'Now, I will put you to the test, and see what you can do.'
Then he looked up and said to his second son--
'There is a chaffinch's nest in the topmost branch of this tree; tellme how many eggs there are in it?'
The Star-gazer took his glass and said: 'There are five.'
His Father said to the eldest: 'Bring the eggs down without disturbingthe bird sitting on them.'
The cunning Thief climbed up and took the five eggs from under thebird so cleverly that it never noticed they were gone, and he gavethem to his Father. His Father took them, and put them one on eachcorner of the table, and one in the middle, and said to theSportsman--
'You must shoot the five eggs through the middle at one shot.'
The Sportsman levelled his gun, and divided each egg in half at oneshot, as his Father desired. He certainly must have had some of thepowder which shoots round the corner.
'Now it is your turn,' said his Father to the fourth son. 'You willsew the eggs together again, the shells and the young birds insidethem; and you will do it in such a manner that they will be none theworse for the shot.'
The Tailor produced his needle, and stitched away as his Fatherordered. When he had finished, the Thief had to climb up the treeagain, and put the eggs back under the bird without her noticing it.The bird spread herself over the eggs, and a few days later thefledglings crept out of the shell, and they all had a red line roundtheir throats where the Tailor had sewn them together.
'Yes,' said the old man to his sons; 'I can certainly praise yourskill. You have learnt something worth knowing, and made the most ofyour time. I don't know which of you to give the palm to. I only hopeyou may soon have a chance of showing your skill so that it may besettled.'
Not long after this there was a great alarm raised in the country:the King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon. The Kingsorrowed for her day and night, and proclaimed that whoever broughther back should marry her.
The four Brothers said to one another: 'This would be an opportunityfor us to prove what we can do.' And they decided to go out togetherto deliver the Princess.
'I shall soon know where she is,' said the Star-gazer, as he lookedthrough his telescope; and then he said--
'I see her already. She is a long way from here, she is sitting on arock in the middle of the sea, and the Dragon is near, watching her.'
Then he went to the King and asked for a ship for himself and hisBrothers to cross the sea in search of the rock.
They found the Princess still on the rock, but the Dragon was asleepwith his head on her lap.
The Sportsman said: 'I dare not shoot. I should kill the beautifulmaiden.'
'Then I will try my luck,' said the Thief, and he stole her away frombeneath the Dragon. He did it so gently and skilfully, that themonster never discovered it, but went snoring on.
Full of joy, they hurried away with her to the ship, and steered forthe open sea. But the Dragon on waking had missed the Princess, andnow came after them through the air, foaming with rage.
Just as he was hovering over the ship and about to drop on them, theSportsman took aim with his gun and shot him through the heart. Themonster fell down dead, but he was so huge, that in falling, hedragged the whole ship down with him. They managed to seize a fewboards, on which they kept themselves afloat.
{The King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon.}]
They were now in great straits, but the Tailor, not to be outdone,produced his wonderful needle, and put some great stitches into theboards, seated himself on them, and collected all the floating bits ofthe ship. Then he stitched them all together so cleverly, that ina very short time the ship was seaworthy again, and they sailedhappily home.
They found the Princess still on the rock, but the Dragon was asleep with his head on her lap.]
The King was overjoyed when he saw his daughter again, and he said tothe four Brothers: 'One of you shall marry her, but which one, youmust decide among yourselves.'
An excited discussion then took place among them, for each one made aclaim.
The Star-gazer said: 'Had I not discovered the Princess, all your artswould have been in vain, therefore she is mine!'
The Thief said: 'What would have been the good of discovering her if Ihad not taken her from under the Dragon? So she is mine.'
The Sportsman said: 'You, as well as the Princess, w
ould have beendestroyed by the monster if my shot had not hit him. So she is mine.'
The Tailor said: 'And if I had not sewn the ship together with myskill, you would all have been drowned miserably. Therefore she ismine.'
The King said: 'Each of you has an equal right; but, as you can't allhave her, none of you shall have her. I will give every one of youhalf a kingdom as a reward.'
The Brothers were quite satisfied with this decision, and they said:'It is better so than that we should quarrel over it.'
So each of them received half a kingdom, and they lived happily withtheir Father for the rest of their days.