Clever Hans
by Brothers Grimm · from Household Tales
Original Story
Clever Hans
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm
The mother of Hans said, "Whither away, Hans?" Hans answered, "To Grethel." - "Behave well, Hans." - "Oh, I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans." Hans comes to Grethel, "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans. What dost thou bring that is good?" - "I bring nothing, I want to have something given me." Grethel presents Hans with a needle. Hans says, "Good-bye, Grethel." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans takes the needle, sticks it into a hay-cart, and follows the cart home. "Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." - "What didst thou take her?" - "Took nothing; had something given me." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "Gave me a needle." - "Where is the needle, Hans?" - "Stuck it in the hay-cart." - "That was ill done, Hans. Thou shouldst have stuck the needle in thy sleeve." - "Never mind, I'll do better next time."
"Whither away, Hans?" - "To Grethel, mother." - "Behave well, Hans." - "Oh, I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans. What dost thou bring that is good?" - "I bring nothing; I want to have something given to me." Grethel presents Hans with a knife. "Good-bye, Grethel." - "Good-bye Hans." Hans takes the knife, sticks it in his sleeve, and goes home. "Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." - "What didst thou take her?" - "Took her nothing, she gave me something." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "Gave me a knife." - "Where is the knife, Hans?" - "Stuck in my sleeve." - "That's ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have put the knife in thy pocket." - "Never mind, will do better next time." - "Whither away, Hans?" - "To Grethel, mother. " - "Behave well, Hans." - "Oh, I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" - "I bring nothing, I want something given me." Grethel presents Hans with a young goat. "Good-bye, Grethel." - "Good-bye, Hans." Hans takes the goat, ties its legs, and puts it in his pocket. When he gets home it is suffocated. "Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." - "What didst thou take her?" - "Took nothing, she gave me something." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "She gave me a goat." - "Where is the goat, Hans?" - "Put it in my pocket." - "That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have put a rope round the goat's neck." - "Never mind, will do better next time."
"Whither away, Hans,?" - "To Grethel, mother." - "Behave well, Hans." - "Oh, I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans." Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" - "I bring nothing, I want something given me." Grethel presents Hans with a piece of bacon. "Good-bye, Grethel." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans takes the bacon, ties it to a rope, and drags it away behind him. The dogs come and devour the bacon. When he gets home, he has the rope in his hand, and there is no longer anything hanging to it. "Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans." - "Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." What didst thou take her?" - "I took her nothing, she gave me something." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "Gave me a bit of bacon." - "Where is the bacon, Hans?" - "I tied it to a rope, brought it home, dogs took it." - "That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have carried the bacon on thy head." - "Never mind, will do better next time." - "Whither away, Hans?" - "To Grethel, mother." - "Behave well, Hans." - "I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans." - "What good thing dost thou bring?" - "I bring nothing, but would have something given." Grethel presents Hans with a calf. "Good-bye, Grethel." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans takes the calf, puts it on his head, and the calf kicks his face. Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." - "What didst thou take her?" - "I took nothing, but had something given me." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "A calf." - "Where hast thou the calf, Hans?" - "I set it on my head and it kicked my face." - "That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have led the calf, and put it in the stall." - "Never mind, will do better next time."
"Whither away, Hans?" - "To Grethel, mother." - "Behave well, Hans." - "I'll behave well. Good-bye, mother." - "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans comes to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." - "Good day, Hans. What good thing dost thou bring?" - "I bring nothing, but would have something given." Grethel says to Hans, "I will go with thee."
Hans takes Grethel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack and binds her fast. Then Hans goes to his mother. "Good evening, mother." - "Good evening, Hans. Where hast thou been?" - "With Grethel." - "What didst thou take her?" - "I took her nothing." - "What did Grethel give thee?" - "She gave me nothing, she came with me." - "Where hast thou left Grethel?" - "I led her by the rope, tied her to the rack, and scattered some grass for her." - "That was ill done, Hans, thou shouldst have cast friendly eyes on her." - "Never mind, will do better."
Hans went into the stable, cut out all the calves', and sheep's eyes, and threw them in Grethel's face. Then Grethel became angry, tore herself loose and ran away, and became the bride of Hans.
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Story DNA
Plot Summary
Hans, a simple-minded young man, repeatedly visits Grethel, receiving various gifts. Each time, he mishandles the gift, leading his mother to instruct him on the 'correct' way to carry it. Hans then applies these instructions literally to the next, often inappropriate, gift, resulting in escalating comedic and disastrous outcomes, from suffocating a goat to losing bacon to dogs. Finally, when Grethel herself comes home with him, Hans literally 'casts friendly eyes' on her by throwing animal eyes at her. Despite this, Grethel, after initially fleeing in anger, inexplicably becomes Hans's bride.
Themes
Emotional Arc
ignorance to slight understanding (but still absurd)
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Grimm's fairy tales often reflect the social norms and humor of rural German communities, where literal-mindedness could be a source of amusement or a commentary on simple folk.
Plot Beats (15)
- Hans visits Grethel and receives a needle.
- Hans sticks the needle in a hay-cart; his mother instructs him to put it in his sleeve.
- Hans visits Grethel and receives a knife.
- Hans sticks the knife in his sleeve; his mother instructs him to put it in his pocket.
- Hans visits Grethel and receives a young goat.
- Hans ties the goat's legs and puts it in his pocket, suffocating it; his mother instructs him to lead it by a rope.
- Hans visits Grethel and receives a piece of bacon.
- Hans ties the bacon to a rope and drags it, losing it to dogs; his mother instructs him to carry it on his head.
- Hans visits Grethel and receives a calf.
- Hans puts the calf on his head, getting kicked; his mother instructs him to lead it and put it in a stall.
- Hans visits Grethel, and she decides to accompany him home.
- Hans ties Grethel to a rope, leads her to a rack, and binds her, then scatters grass for her; his mother instructs him to 'cast friendly eyes' on her.
- Hans, interpreting literally, cuts out animal eyes and throws them at Grethel.
- Grethel, enraged, tears herself loose and runs away.
- Grethel, despite the incident, becomes Hans's bride.
Characters
Hans
Not explicitly described, but likely a sturdy build from farm work.
Attire: Simple peasant clothing: tunic, breeches, perhaps a cap. Earthy tones.
Simple-minded, obedient (to a fault), eager to please but lacking common sense
Grethel
No specific description, but likely healthy and capable.
Attire: Traditional peasant dress: bodice, skirt, apron. Practical and modest.
Generous, patient (initially), resourceful (eventually)
Mother
No specific description, but likely showing signs of hard work.
Attire: Simple, functional clothing suitable for housework and farm chores.
Exasperated, critical, seemingly well-intentioned but ineffectual
Locations
Mother's Cottage
A simple cottage where Hans returns each evening to report his misadventures to his mother.
Mood: homely, exasperated
Hans receives increasingly absurd advice from his mother after each trip to Grethel's.
Grethel's House
A place where Grethel generously gives gifts to Hans.
Mood: generous, patient
Hans repeatedly visits seeking gifts, setting up the escalating series of mishaps.
Hay Cart Route
The path between Grethel's and Hans's home, where Hans makes his first mistake.
Mood: careless, naive
Hans loses the needle in the hay, marking the beginning of his string of errors.
Stable
A dark stable where Hans commits a bizarre act of violence.
Mood: dark, disturbing
Hans cuts out the eyes of the animals, leading to Grethel's escape and eventual marriage to him.