The Stolen Farthings
by Brothers Grimm · from Household Tales
Original Story
The stolen farthings
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm
A father was one day sitting at dinner with his wife and his children, and a good friend who had come on a visit was with them. And as they thus sat, and it was striking twelve o'clock, the stranger saw the door open, and a very pale child dressed in snow-white clothes came in. It did not look around, and it did not speak; but went straight into the next room. Soon afterwards it came back, and went out at the door again in the same quiet manner. On the second and on the third day, it came also exactly in the same way. At last the stranger asked the father to whom the beautiful child that went into the next room every day at noon belonged? "I have never seen it," said he, neither did he know to whom it could belong. The next day when it again came, the stranger pointed it out to the father, who however did not see it, and the mother and the children also all saw nothing. On this the stranger got up, went to the room door, opened it a little, and peeped in. Then he saw the child sitting on the ground, and digging and seeking about industriously amongst the crevices between the boards of the floor, but when it saw the stranger, it disappeared. He now told what he had seen and described the child exactly, and the mother recognized it, and said, "Ah, it is my dear child who died a month ago." They took up the boards and found two farthings which the child had once received from its mother that it might give them to a poor man; it, however, had thought, "Thou canst buy thyself a biscuit for that," and had kept the farthings, and hidden them in the openings between the boards; and therefore it had had no rest in its grave, and had come every day at noon to seek for these farthings. The parents gave the money at once to a poor man, and after that the child was never seen again.
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Story DNA
Moral
Even small acts of selfishness can disturb one's peace, and restitution is necessary for true rest.
Plot Summary
A family is visited by a friend who repeatedly sees a pale, silent child entering and leaving a room, though the family cannot. The friend investigates, discovering the child digging in the floorboards. The mother recognizes the description as her deceased child, who had secretly kept two farthings meant for a poor man. The parents find the coins, give them to a poor man, and the child's spirit is never seen again, finally at peace.
Themes
Emotional Arc
mystery to understanding to resolution
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Farthings were small British coins, but the concept of small currency is universal. The story reflects common European folk beliefs about the dead and the spiritual weight of earthly actions.
Plot Beats (12)
- A family and a visiting friend are at dinner.
- A pale child in white clothes silently enters and exits the next room at noon for three consecutive days.
- The stranger asks the father about the child, but the father claims to have never seen it.
- The stranger points out the child to the family, but only the stranger can see it.
- The stranger secretly observes the child digging in the floorboards of the next room before it vanishes.
- The stranger describes the child, and the mother recognizes it as her deceased child.
- The mother explains that the child died a month ago.
- The family uncovers the floorboards where the child was digging.
- They find two farthings the child had kept instead of giving to a poor man, as instructed by its mother.
- The child's spirit was restless due to this unfulfilled act of charity.
- The parents give the farthings to a poor man.
- The child is never seen again, having found peace.
Characters
The Stranger
Not explicitly described, but implied to be an observant and perceptive man.
Attire: Period-appropriate clothing for a visitor/friend, likely simple and practical.
Observant, curious, helpful
The Child's Ghost
Very pale, dressed in snow-white clothes.
Attire: Snow-white clothes, implying a burial shroud or ethereal attire.
Restless, persistent, focused
The Father
Not explicitly described.
Attire: Period-appropriate clothing for a head of household.
Unobservant, initially dismissive, concerned
The Mother
Not explicitly described.
Attire: Period-appropriate clothing for a mother/housewife.
Mournful, understanding, responsible
Locations
Dining Room
A room where a family and their guest are having dinner. It is connected to another room by a door.
Mood: Initially warm and familial, then becomes mysterious and unsettling due to the child's appearance.
The family and guest are eating when the ghostly child first appears, and the guest points out the child to the father.
Adjacent Room (Child's Room)
A room next to the dining room, with wooden floorboards that have crevices. It is where the ghostly child goes and sits on the ground.
Mood: Mysterious, slightly eerie, as it's the destination of the silent, pale child.
The ghostly child is seen sitting on the ground, digging and searching among the floorboard crevices. The farthings are later found here.