Young Neverfull
by Unknown · from Tales of Laughter: A third fairy book
Adapted Version
Leo was a boy. He loved to eat. He loved food very, very much! He ate everything. Mrs. Green was his mistress. She was kind. She was busy. Leo always looked for food.
Mrs. Green had a jar of jam. It was special jam. She hid it away. She told Leo about it. "Leo," she said. "This jam is very bad. Do not eat it. It will make you very, very sick."
Leo listened to Mrs. Green. He said, "Okay. I will not touch it." He promised her.
One day, Mrs. Green left the house. She went on an errand. She told Leo what to do. "Cook the soup," she said. "Boil the meat. Roast the chicken. Make dinner ready for me."
Leo cooked the soup. He boiled the meat. Then he cooked the chicken. He put it on the fire.
The chicken looked very good. It had yummy crispy skin. Leo ate the crispy skin. It was so yummy! He waited for more. More crispy skin did not come. He turned the chicken.
Leo was very scared. The chicken had no crispy skin. Mrs. Green would be angry. Very, very angry with him. He remembered the jam. The very bad jam.
Leo had an idea. He went to the jam. He ate all of it. The whole jar! "Oh no!" he thought. "I will be very sick. Very, very sick!" He hid under the table.
Mrs. Green came home. She saw the chicken. No crispy skin! "Oh dear!" she said loudly. She was very, very angry. She looked for Leo. Where was he hiding?
Leo heard her voice. He cried out loudly. "Oh, Mrs. Green! Please leave me alone! I ate the bad jam! I am very, very sick!" he said.
Mrs. Green stopped. She understood Leo's trick. Leo was very clever. She laughed and laughed! She was not angry. Not angry anymore.
Mrs. Green laughed and laughed. Leo was a very clever boy! And she was not angry anymore. Sometimes, being clever can help you. Even when you make a mistake. Grown-ups can laugh at silly tricks.
Original Story
Young Neverfull
A certain housewife had a young servant lad who devoured everything eatable that lay in his way. He would rummage in the storeroom until he smelled out something good, and would give himself no rest until he had devoured it all.
Now, the woman had a jar of preserved fruit, and, as she feared that the youngster would eat it and leave her nothing to put into her pies, she said to him:
“My good boy, you have now eaten everything that I have except this jam, and you have left this just as if you knew that it was poisoned. See how kind Heaven is to have preserved you from it. One single spoonful is enough to kill one instantly, so I warn you not to touch it unless you want to die.”
“Very well,” answered the boy.
On the next Sunday, as the woman was getting ready to go to mass, she said to the boy: “Cook the soup and boil the meat and roast this duck; we will have a good dinner to-day. See that you have all done and ready when I come home.”
“Very well; it shall all be done,” answered the boy.
When the woman was gone he cooked the soup and boiled the meat, and then he put the duck upon the spit to roast. When he saw what a delicious brown crisp was forming all over the duck, he thought, “It can roast itself another one,” and ate the crisp all off. He turned the spit and turned it, but the second brown crisp never came.
When he saw this, he thought: “When the mistress comes home she will pepper me well,” and he began to consider how he could escape a beating. In his desperation he remembered the jar of poison against which his mistress had warned him the day before. With a sudden resolution he went into the 46storeroom and devoured the whole jarful of preserved fruit, and then crouched down in a corner to wait for death.
Presently his mistress came home and cried out angrily: “What have you done to this duck?” She was about to belabor him well, when he cried: “Ah, leave me in peace, dear mistress! I shall die in a minute, anyway, for I have eaten up all the poison!”
At this the woman broke out into a laugh and could not refuse to forgive him. The duck and the preserves, however, were gone all the same.
Story DNA
Moral
Sometimes, quick wit can save you from punishment, even when you've been disobedient.
Plot Summary
A gluttonous servant boy, Neverfull, is warned by his mistress that a jar of preserved fruit is poisoned. One Sunday, while his mistress is out, he ruins a roasted duck by eating its crispy skin. Fearing punishment, he desperately eats the entire jar of 'poisoned' fruit, hoping to avoid a beating by feigning death. When his mistress returns and confronts him, he cries out that he's dying from the poison, which makes her laugh and ultimately forgive him for his cleverness, despite the lost food.
Themes
Emotional Arc
anticipation to fear to relief
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects common concerns of household management and servant behavior in pre-modern times.
Plot Beats (11)
- A housewife has a servant boy, Neverfull, who eats everything.
- The housewife hides a jar of preserved fruit, telling the boy it's poisoned and one spoonful will kill him.
- The boy agrees not to touch it.
- On Sunday, the housewife leaves for mass, instructing the boy to cook soup, boil meat, and roast a duck for dinner.
- The boy cooks the soup and meat, then roasts the duck.
- He eats the delicious crispy skin off the duck, expecting another crisp to form, but it doesn't.
- Fearing punishment from his mistress, he remembers the 'poisoned' fruit.
- In desperation, he eats the entire jar of preserved fruit and hides, waiting to die.
- The mistress returns, sees the ruined duck, and prepares to beat the boy.
- The boy cries out, begging her to leave him alone as he's about to die from eating the 'poison'.
- The mistress understands his trick, laughs, and forgives him.
Characters
Young Neverfull
A slender boy, perhaps a bit on the shorter side for his age, with a perpetually hungry look in his eyes. His build is lean, suggesting he burns through calories quickly despite his voracious appetite. His movements are quick and somewhat furtive when he's seeking food.
Attire: Simple, practical peasant attire typical of 18th or 19th-century Europe. Likely a coarse linen tunic or shirt, possibly a worn woolen waistcoat, and sturdy breeches or trousers, all in muted, earthy tones like grey, brown, or undyed off-white. His clothes would show signs of wear and tear, perhaps a few food stains.
Wants: To satisfy his insatiable hunger and avoid punishment.
Flaw: His extreme gluttony and lack of self-control, combined with a tendency to panic and make rash decisions.
He doesn't fundamentally change his gluttonous nature but learns that his mistress can be forgiving, even when he makes grave mistakes.
Gluttonous, impulsive, cunning, somewhat naive, and prone to panic. He acts on immediate desires without much foresight but can be resourceful in a pinch.
The Housewife
A woman of sturdy build, indicative of someone who manages a household. She might be of average height, with a no-nonsense demeanor. Her hands would show signs of work, perhaps a bit calloused.
Attire: Practical, modest attire typical of a middle-class European housewife. A long, dark woolen skirt, a plain linen blouse, and a sturdy apron over it. Her clothing would be clean and well-maintained, in muted colors like deep blue, forest green, or brown. She might wear a simple white linen cap.
Wants: To maintain order and provisions in her household, and to prevent her servant from devouring everything.
Flaw: Her exasperation can lead her to make exaggerated threats (like the 'poisoned jam'), which can backfire.
She learns to laugh at the boy's antics and perhaps realizes that her exaggerated warnings can be taken too literally, leading to unexpected outcomes. She ultimately chooses forgiveness over punishment.
Thrifty, practical, easily exasperated, but ultimately good-humored and forgiving. She tries to manage her resources and her servant but has a soft spot.
Locations
Housewife's Kitchen
A bustling, functional kitchen within a traditional German Fachwerk house, with a large open hearth for cooking, a wooden table, and various cooking implements. The air is warm and smells of roasting meat and simmering soup.
Mood: Initially busy and domestic, later tense and anxious for the boy.
The boy prepares dinner, eats the duck's crisp skin, and later faces his mistress's anger here.
Housewife's Storeroom
A cool, dim storeroom, likely in the cellar or a dedicated pantry of a German cottage, filled with shelves holding various foodstuffs. It has a distinct smell of preserved goods and earthy coolness. A single jar of preserved fruit sits prominently.
Mood: Secretive, tempting, later desperate and dramatic.
The boy frequently rummages here for food, and later, in desperation, devours the 'poisoned' preserved fruit.