The thief and his master
by Brothers Grimm
The Clever Boy and the Magic Teacher
Once there was a papa and his boy. The boy wanted to learn something special.
Papa looked up at the stars. "What should my boy learn?" A kind voice said, "Clever tricks!"
Papa took his boy to a big forest. A magic teacher lived there. "I will teach him," said the teacher. "Come back in one year. If you find him, you take him home."
One year went by. Papa walked back. He was sad. "How do I find my boy?"
Then he met a friendly little man. The little man whispered, "Listen! Your son is a little bird. Throw some bread. The bird that eats it is your boy."
Papa threw the bread. Many birds sat there. One little bird ate the bread. "That is my boy!" said Papa. The bird became a boy again! The magic teacher was very surprised. "How did you find him?" Papa and his boy went home.
The boy said, "Papa, a trick! I become a dog. You give me to that man. He gives you coins. Then I run back!"
The boy became a big, fast dog. A man gave Papa coins. Then the dog ran away fast! He ran back to Papa. He was a boy again. They laughed and laughed.
The boy said, "Now I become a horse. You can give me to a man. But Papa — take off my rope! Take off my rope before you go!"
Oh no! The magic teacher came. He took the horse. And Papa forgot the rope!
The horse shook and shook. The rope fell off! Now he was a little bird. He flew up, up, up!
The magic teacher was not happy. He became a bird too! He flew after the boy-bird. Fast, fast, fast!
The boy became a big fish — splash! The teacher became a fish too. But the boy was faster!
The teacher became a big rooster. But the boy became a clever fox!
The fox chased the rooster far away. The rooster ran and never came back. The fox became a boy again. He ran home to Papa.
Papa hugged his boy. "You are clever, my boy!" They walked home together. They were happy and safe.
And they were never afraid again.
Original Story
The thief and his master A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm Hans wished to put his son to learn a trade, so he went into the church and prayed to our Lord God to know which would be most advantageous for him. Then the clerk got behind the altar, and said, "Thieving, thieving." On this Hans goes back to his son, and tells him he is to learn thieving, and that the Lord God had said so. So he goes with his son to seek a man who is acquainted with thieving. They walk a long time and come into a great forest, where stands a little house with an old woman in it. Hans says, "Do you know of a man who is acquainted with thieving?" - "You can learn that here quite well," says the woman, "my son is a master of it." So he speaks with the son, and asks if he knows thieving really well? The master-thief says, "I will teach him well. Come back when a year is over, and then if you recognize your son, I will take no payment at all for teaching him; but if you don't know him, you must give me two hundred thalers." The father goes home again, and the son learns witchcraft and thieving, thoroughly. When the year is out, the father is full of anxiety to know how he is to contrive to recognize his son. As he is thus going about in his trouble, he meets a little dwarf, who says, "Man, what ails you, that you are always in such trouble?" "Oh," says Hans, "a year ago I placed my son with a master-thief who told me I was to come back when the year was out, and that if I then did not know my son when I saw him, I was to pay two hundred thalers; but if I did know him I was to pay nothing, and now I am afraid of not knowing him and can't tell where I am to get the money." Then the dwarf tells him to take a small basket of bread with him, and to stand beneath the chimney. "There on the cross-beam is a basket, out of which a little bird is peeping, and that is your son." Hans goes thither, and throws a little basket full of black bread in front of the basket with the bird in it, and the little bird comes out, and looks up. "Hollo, my son, art thou here?" says the father, and the son is delighted to see his father, but the master-thief says, "The devil must have prompted you, or how could you have known your son?" - "Father, let us go," said the youth. Then the father and son set out homeward. On the way a carriage comes driving by. Hereupon the son says to his father, "I will change myself into a large greyhound, and then you can earn a great deal of money by me." Then the gentleman calls from the carriage, "My man, will you sell your dog?" - "Yes," says the father. "How much do you want for it?" - "Thirty thalers." - "Eh, man, that is a great deal, but as it is such a very fine dog I will have it." The gentleman takes it into his carriage, but when they have driven a little farther the dog springs out of the carriage through the window, and goes back to his father, and is no longer a greyhound. They go home together. Next day there is a fair in the neighboring town, so the youth says to his father, "I will now change myself into a beautiful horse, and you can sell me; but when you have sold me, you must take off my bridle, or I cannot become a man again." Then the father goes with the horse to the fair, and the master-thief comes and buys the horse for a hundred thalers, but the father forgets, and does not take off the bridle. So the man goes home with the horse, and puts it in the stable. When the maid crosses the threshold, the horse says, "Take off my bridle, take off my bridle." Then the maid stands still, and says, "What, canst thou speak?" So she goes and takes the bridle off, and the horse becomes a sparrow, and flies out at the door, and the wizard becomes a sparrow also, and flies after him. Then they come together and cast lots, but the master loses, and betakes himself to the water and is a fish. Then the youth also becomes a fish, and they cast lots again, and the master loses. So the master changes himself into a cock, and the youth becomes a fox, and bites the master's head off, and he died and has remained dead to this day. * * * * *
Moral of the Story
Cunning and quick thinking can overcome even the most powerful adversaries, but sometimes at a great cost.
Characters
Hans ◆ supporting
None explicitly mentioned, likely a common man of the period.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple peasant attire of the period.
Anxious, somewhat gullible, loving father.
The Son ★ protagonist
None explicitly mentioned, but capable of shapeshifting into various animals.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple attire, but his transformations are key.
Clever, resourceful, obedient to his father, skilled in thievery and witchcraft.
The Master-Thief ⚔ antagonist
None explicitly mentioned, but possesses magical abilities.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, but likely appropriate for a master of his craft.
Cunning, powerful, competitive, vengeful.
The Old Woman ○ minor
Lives in a little house in a great forest.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple, rustic clothing.
Helpful, knowledgeable about her son's skills.
The Little Dwarf ○ minor
Small in stature.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, but implied to be simple and unassuming.
Wise, helpful, observant.
The Maid ○ minor
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely servant's attire of the period.
Curious, obedient.
Locations
Church
A place of worship where Hans prays to God.
Mood: solemn, spiritual, fateful
Hans receives divine (or mischievous) instruction to teach his son thieving.
Little house in a great forest
A small dwelling situated deep within a large forest, inhabited by an old woman and her master-thief son.
Mood: secluded, mysterious, educational
Hans finds the master-thief to apprentice his son.
Master-thief's house (chimney area)
The interior of the master-thief's house, specifically the area beneath the chimney where a cross-beam holds a basket.
Mood: tense, magical, revealing
Hans identifies his son, who has transformed into a bird, with the help of a dwarf's advice.
Road
A path or thoroughfare where a carriage is encountered.
Mood: open, opportunistic, transformative
The son transforms into a greyhound to be sold and then escapes.
Fair in the neighboring town
A bustling public gathering place in a nearby town, filled with people and goods for sale.
Mood: lively, public, deceptive
The son, transformed into a horse, is sold to the master-thief, leading to a magical chase.
Story DNA
Moral
Cunning and quick thinking can overcome even the most powerful adversaries, but sometimes at a great cost.
Plot Summary
Hans apprentices his son to a master-thief after a divine voice suggests 'thieving' as a trade. A year later, Hans, aided by a dwarf, successfully identifies his magically transformed son, who has learned witchcraft and thieving. The son then uses his transformation abilities to escape the master-thief's clutches after being sold as a dog. In a subsequent encounter, the son transforms into a horse, but his father forgets to remove a crucial bridle, leading to a final, escalating magical duel of transformations where the son, as a fox, kills the master-thief.
Themes
Emotional Arc
anxiety to relief to escalating conflict to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story reflects a pre-industrial society where trades were learned through apprenticeship and magic was a common element in storytelling. The 'divine' instruction to learn thieving is a dark, humorous, or perhaps satirical element.
Plot Beats (15)
- Hans prays for guidance on his son's trade; a voice suggests 'thieving'.
- Hans apprentices his son to a master-thief for a year, with a wager on the father's ability to recognize his son.
- After a year, Hans is anxious about recognizing his son and meets a dwarf.
- The dwarf instructs Hans to throw bread under a chimney where his son, transformed into a bird, is hiding.
- Hans recognizes his son, much to the master-thief's surprise, and they leave.
- On the way home, the son transforms into a greyhound, and Hans sells him to a gentleman.
- The son escapes the carriage and returns to his father, resuming human form.
- At a fair, the son transforms into a horse for his father to sell, instructing him to remove the bridle after the sale.
- The master-thief buys the horse, and Hans forgets to remove the bridle.
- The horse (son) speaks to a maid, asking her to remove the bridle.
- Upon the bridle's removal, the son transforms into a sparrow and flies away.
- The master-thief also transforms into a sparrow and pursues the son.
- They transform into a fish (master) and then another fish (son), with the master losing a 'lot' (implied magical contest).
- The master transforms into a cock, and the son transforms into a fox.
- The fox (son) bites off the cock's (master's) head, killing him.
