A GOBLIN in A BOTTLE
by Clifton Johnson · from Bluebeard
Adapted Version
Once, there was a kind father. He had a smart son. The father cut trees every day. He worked very hard. He saved money for his son. He wanted his son to learn.
The son went to a big school. He learned many things. He was a good student. But one day, the money was gone. The son came home. He was a little sad.
"I will help you," the son said. "I can cut trees too." Father gave an ax. They walked to the forest together.
The father sat down to eat. He was very tired. The son walked into the forest. He wanted to look at trees. He wanted to find bird nests.
He found a very big old tree. It was very, very tall. He heard a small voice. "Help me! Let me out!" it said.
He looked at the ground. He found a small glass bottle. A little thing was inside it. It jumped up and down. "Let me out!" it said again.
He opened the bottle. A big magic spirit came out! It grew and grew and grew. It was very, very big now. "I will keep you forever!" it said. Its voice was very loud.
The son was not scared. He was very smart. "You were in that small bottle?" he said. "I do not believe you. Show me."
The spirit was very proud. "I can do that!" it said. It got small again. It went back into the bottle. The son closed it fast!
"Let me out!" the spirit cried. "I will give you a gift!" Son said, "No."
"Please!" the spirit said again. "I will be good. I will give you something nice." Son thought. "Be good this time," he said. He opened the bottle again.
The spirit came out again. It was happy now. It gave the son a magic cloth. "Touch this to things," it said. "It makes things all better."
The son touched a hurt tree. The tree got better! It worked! "Thank you!" the son said. The spirit said goodbye. The son went back to his father.
The son was smart and brave. He helped his father. He was very happy. Being smart can help you!
Original Story
III—A GOBLIN IN A BOTTLE
Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter who worked from daylight to dark, and as he spent little he saved some money. He had an only son, and one day he said to him: “This money which I have earned by the sweat of my brow shall be spent on your education. Go to school and learn something useful that you may be able to support me in my old age when my limbs become so stiff that I am obliged to sit at home.”
The son went away to a great school and was very industrious and made excellent progress. He had been at the school a long time, but had not learned all that was to be learned when his father’s store of money was exhausted, and he was obliged to come home.
“I can give you no more,” his father said sadly, “for in these dear times I am scarcely able to earn my daily bread.”
“Make yourself easy as to that, my good father,” the son responded. “I will suit myself to the times.”
When the father was about to go to the forest to chop, the son said, “I will go with you and help.”
“Ah! but you have never been used to such hard work,” the father objected. “You must not attempt it. Besides, I have only one ax and no money to buy another.”
“Go and ask your neighbor to lend you an ax till I have earned enough to buy one for myself,” the son said.
So the father borrowed an ax, and he and the scholar went together to the forest, where the young man helped with the work and was very lively and merry. About noon, when the sun stood right over their heads, the father sat down to rest for a while and eat his dinner.
The scholar, however, took his share of bread and said: “I am not tired. I will go a little deeper into the forest and look for birds’ nests.”
“Oh, you silly fellow!” his father exclaimed, “why do you want to run about? You will get so weary you will not be able to raise your arm. Keep quiet a bit and sit down here with me.”
But the young man would not do that. He went off among the trees eating his bread and peeping about among the bushes for nests. To and fro he wandered until he came to an immense hollow oak tree. The tree was certainly hundreds of years old, and five men taking hold of hands could not have reached around it.
The scholar had stopped to look at this great tree thinking that many a bird’s nest must be built within its hollow trunk when he fancied he heard a voice. He listened and there came to his ears a half-smothered cry of “Let me out!”
He looked around, but could see no one. Indeed, it seemed to him that the voice came from the ground. So he called, “Where are you?”
The voice replied, “Here I am among the roots of the oak tree. Let me out! Let me out!”
The scholar therefore began to search at the foot of the tree where the roots spread. Finally in a little hollow, he found a glass bottle. He picked it up and held it so he could look through toward the light. Then he perceived a thing inside shaped like a frog which kept jumping up and down.
“Let me out! Let me out!” the thing cried again; and the scholar, not suspecting any evil, drew the stopper from the bottle.
Immediately the little creature sprang forth, and it grew and grew until in a few moments it stood before the scholar a frightful goblin half as tall as the oak tree. “Do you know what your reward is for letting me out of that glass bottle?” the goblin cried with a voice of thunder.
“No,” the scholar answered without fear, “how should I?”
“Then I will tell you that I must break your neck,” the goblin announced.
“You should have told me that before,” the scholar said, “and you would have stayed where you were. But my head will remain on my shoulders in spite of you, for there are several people’s opinions to be asked yet about this matter.”
The Goblin Threatens The Scholar
“Keep your people out of my way,” the goblin snarled. “I was shut up in that bottle for a punishment, and I have been kept there for such a length of time that I long ago vowed I would kill whoever let me out for not coming to release me sooner. So I shall break your neck.”
“Softly, softly!” the scholar responded, “that is quicker said than done. I don’t know whether to believe your word or not. You told me you were in that bottle. But how could such a giant as you are get into so small a space? Prove that you spoke the truth by retiring into the bottle, and afterward do what you please with me.”
Full of pride, the goblin boasted, “I can easily furnish you the proof you ask”; and he shrank and shrank until he was as small as before. Then he crept back into the bottle.
Instantly the scholar replaced the stopper, and put the bottle once more where it had been among the oak roots. He picked up his ax and was about to go back to his father when the goblin cried lamentably: “Oh, let me out! Do let me out.”
“No, not a second time,” the scholar said. “I shall not give you a chance to take my life again in a hurry, after I have got you safe.”
“Free me,” the goblin pleaded, “and I will give you wealth that will last you your life-time.”
“No, no, you will only deceive me!” the scholar declared.
“You are disregarding your own best interests,” the goblin said. “Instead of harming you I will reward you richly.”
“Well, I will hazard letting him out,” the scholar thought, “for he may after all keep his word.”
Then he addressed the goblin, saying: “I will release you. See to it that you do as you have promised.”
So he removed the stopper and the goblin jumped out and soon became as big as before. “Now you shall have your reward,” the monster said, and he reached the scholar a little piece of rag. “Apply that to a wound, and the wound will at once heal,” he explained; “or touch it to iron and the iron will change to silver.”
“I will try it,” the scholar responded, and he went to the oak tree and slashed off a piece of bark with his ax. Then he touched the place with the rag, and immediately the wound closed up as if the bark had never been gashed at all.
“That is quite satisfactory,” the scholar said. “Now we can separate.”
“I thank you for releasing me,” the goblin remarked as he turned away.
“And I thank you heartily for your present,” the scholar said.
Story DNA
Moral
Intelligence and quick thinking can overcome brute force and danger, and sometimes, a calculated risk can lead to great reward.
Plot Summary
A poor woodcutter's educated son returns home and helps his father chop wood. While in the forest, he discovers a bottle containing a powerful goblin. Upon release, the goblin threatens to kill the scholar, but the clever young man tricks it back into the bottle by challenging its ability to fit. The goblin then pleads for a second release, promising a great reward. The scholar, taking a calculated risk, frees the goblin again, who then bestows upon him a magical rag capable of healing wounds and transmuting iron into silver, leading to a mutually beneficial parting.
Themes
Emotional Arc
anxiety to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
This story, collected by Clifton Johnson, is a variant of a Brothers Grimm tale, 'The Spirit in the Bottle' (Der Geist im Glas), reflecting common European folk motifs of cleverness triumphing over supernatural power.
Plot Beats (13)
- A poor woodcutter saves money to send his only son to school for an education.
- The son studies diligently but must return home when his father's money runs out.
- The son offers to help his father chop wood, despite his lack of experience, and borrows an ax.
- While his father rests, the son wanders deeper into the forest, looking for birds' nests.
- He discovers an immense hollow oak tree and hears a voice crying for help from its roots.
- He finds a glass bottle containing a frog-like creature and, without suspicion, removes the stopper.
- A frightful goblin emerges, growing to a giant size, and immediately threatens to break the scholar's neck as punishment for its long imprisonment.
- The scholar, unfazed, challenges the goblin's claim of fitting into the small bottle, demanding proof.
- The proud goblin shrinks and re-enters the bottle to prove its point, and the scholar quickly replaces the stopper.
- The trapped goblin begs for release, promising great wealth, but the scholar is wary.
- After some deliberation, the scholar decides to risk it and releases the goblin a second time, making it promise to keep its word.
- The goblin, now free, gives the scholar a magical rag that can heal wounds and turn iron into silver.
- The scholar tests the rag on a tree wound, confirming its power, and then they part ways amicably.
Characters
The Scholar ★ protagonist
Lean and agile build, accustomed to academic pursuits rather than manual labor, but capable of adapting. His movements are quick and observant.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing suitable for a student, perhaps a tunic and trousers made of sturdy, undyed linen or wool, possibly with a worn leather belt. When going to the forest, he would wear more robust, plain garments, perhaps a coarse linen shirt and breeches, and simple leather boots.
Wants: To gain an education to support his father, and later, to survive and benefit from unexpected encounters.
Flaw: Perhaps a slight naiveté or overconfidence in his own cleverness, as he risks releasing the goblin a second time.
He transforms from a student reliant on his father's support into a resourceful and courageous individual who can outwit dangerous magical creatures and secure his own fortune.
Industrious, intelligent, curious, courageous, quick-witted, and pragmatic. He is not easily intimidated and thinks on his feet.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a lean build, fair skin, and sharp, intelligent blue eyes. His dark brown hair is neatly combed and falls to his ears. He wears a simple, practical tunic of undyed linen, sturdy brown breeches, and worn leather boots. He holds a small, clear glass bottle with a stopper in his left hand and a woodcutting ax in his right. He has a calm, thoughtful expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Goblin ⚔ antagonist
Initially a frog-shaped creature inside a bottle, it transforms into a frightful, gigantic being, half as tall as an ancient oak tree. Its form is monstrous and imposing, with a menacing presence. It has a powerful, muscular build.
Attire: No specific clothing, as it is a magical creature. Its body itself is its 'attire', perhaps with rough, leathery skin or scales.
Wants: To be free from its imprisonment and to exact revenge on whoever released it (due to a vow made during its long confinement). Later, its motivation shifts to simply gaining freedom by any means.
Flaw: Its immense pride and boastfulness, which the Scholar exploits to trick it back into the bottle. It underestimates human intelligence.
It begins as a vengeful, trapped entity, is briefly freed and then re-trapped by human cunning, and ultimately, after being freed a second time, becomes a reluctant benefactor, bestowing a magical gift.
Vengeful, prideful, boastful, deceitful, and ultimately desperate. It is quick to anger and makes grand threats, but can be outsmarted.
Image Prompt & Upload
A gigantic, monstrous creature, half as tall as an ancient oak tree, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. It has a powerful, muscular build, rough green skin, and large, glowing red eyes. Its face is grotesque and fearsome, with sharp teeth visible in a snarling expression. It has no hair. Its posture is arrogant and threatening. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Woodcutter ◆ supporting
A man with a sturdy, weathered build from a lifetime of hard labor. His limbs are becoming stiff, indicating the toll of his work. He is likely of average height.
Attire: Simple, practical, and worn peasant clothing suitable for manual labor in the forest. This would include a coarse linen shirt, sturdy wool trousers, and heavy, worn leather boots. He might wear a simple cap to protect from the elements.
Wants: To provide for his son's education and ensure his future, and to continue earning his daily bread despite his advancing age.
Flaw: His physical limitations due to age and hard work, and his financial struggles.
He remains a constant, supportive figure, representing the humble origins and values his son comes from. His arc is less about personal change and more about being the catalyst for his son's journey.
Hardworking, loving, self-sacrificing, and practical. He is concerned for his son's future and well-being.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly man, appearing to be in his late sixties, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a sturdy, weathered build, with a slightly stooped posture. His face is kind but lined, with warm, tired brown eyes. His hair and short beard are grey and slightly disheveled. He wears a coarse, undyed linen shirt, sturdy brown wool trousers, and heavy, scuffed leather boots. He holds a well-used woodcutting ax in his right hand. He has a weary but loving expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Woodcutter's Humble Home
A simple, poor woodcutter's dwelling, likely a small, rustic cottage with basic furnishings, reflecting a life of hard labor and frugality.
Mood: Somber, practical, filled with parental concern and filial duty.
The woodcutter discusses his son's education and later, the son returns due to lack of funds, deciding to help his father.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, weathered German half-timbered cottage interior, with a low ceiling and a single, small window letting in soft, diffused daylight. A rough-hewn wooden table sits centrally, with two simple stools. The walls are plastered and slightly uneven, and a few basic tools hang from wooden pegs. A stone hearth is visible in the background, unlit. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Dense Temperate Forest
A deep, ancient forest with tall, mature trees, dense undergrowth, and a sense of wildness and solitude, far from human habitation. The ground is likely covered with fallen leaves and forest debris.
Mood: Initially industrious and lively, then shifts to mysterious and solitary as the scholar ventures deeper.
The woodcutter and his son work together; the son then wanders deeper, seeking birds' nests.
Image Prompt & Upload
A winding dirt path through a dense, ancient German forest, with towering oak and beech trees forming a thick canopy overhead. Patches of sunlight dapple the forest floor, which is covered in a rich carpet of fallen leaves, moss, and exposed roots. Ferns and wild berry bushes grow in the undergrowth. The air is still and green, with a sense of deep quiet. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Immense Hollow Oak Tree
A colossal, ancient oak tree, hundreds of years old, with a trunk so wide it would take five men to encircle it. It has a significant hollow within its trunk and widespread roots, with a small hollow among them.
Mood: Mysterious, ancient, and suddenly tense, then triumphant and finally rewarding.
The scholar discovers the bottle, releases the goblin, tricks it back in, and then releases it again for a magical reward.
Image Prompt & Upload
A monumental, ancient German oak tree dominates the scene, its incredibly wide, gnarled trunk showing centuries of growth and deep fissures. A large, dark hollow is visible within the trunk. At its base, massive roots spread out, creating small crevices and hollows in the mossy, leaf-strewn ground. Bright midday sunlight streams down, highlighting the rough bark and casting deep shadows. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
