Golden Goose

Not to be confused with The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs.

Simpleton finds The Golden Goose: illustration by L. Leslie Brooke, 1905

"The Golden Goose" (German: Die goldene Gans) is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (Tale 64).

Story

The hero is the youngest of three brothers, given the nickname Simpleton. His eldest brother is sent into the forest to chop wood, fortified with a rich cake and a bottle of wine. He meets a little gray man who begs a morsel to eat and a swallow of ale but is rebuffed. The eldest brother meets an accident and is taken home. The second brother meets a similar fate. Simpleton, sent out with a biscuit cooked in the ashes of the hearth and soured beer, is generous with the little old man and is rewarded with a golden goose. The goose has been discovered within the roots of the tree chosen by the little gray man and felled by Simpleton.

Simpleton takes the Golden Goose to market.

With the goose under his arm, Simpleton heads for an inn where as soon as his back is turned, the innkeeper's daughter attempts to pluck just one of the feathers of pure gold and is stuck fast. Her sister comes to help her and is stuck fast too. The youngest daughter is determined not to be left out of the riches where she ends up stuck to the second. Simpleton makes his way to the castle and each person who attempts to interfere is joined to the unwilling parade ranging from the parson, his sexton, and two laborers.

In the castle lives the King with the Princess who has never laughed. But the despondent Princess, sitting by the window and glimpsing the parade staggering after Simpleton and his golden goose, laughs until she cries. Some versions include an additional three trials. Simpleton succeeds in all with the help of his little gold friend and finally wins the princess, living happily ever after.

Literary examination of the story

The hero is the youngest of three brothers, given the nickname "Simpleton". His eldest brother is sent into the forest to chop wood (the Task), fortified with a rich cake and a bottle of wine. He meets a little gray man (the Disguised Helper) who begs a morsel to eat and a swallow of ale but is rebuffed. The eldest brother meets an accident and is taken home. The second brother meets a similar fate. Dummling, sent out with a biscuit cooked in the ashes of the hearth and soured beer, is generous with the little old man and is rewarded with a golden goose (the Fairy Gift).

The goose has been discovered within the roots of the tree chosen by the little gray man and felled by Dummling. Tellers of this tale could not have been aware of the imprisonment of Osiris. For archaic Greek spirits within oak trees, see Dryads.

With the goose under his arm, Dummling heads for an inn, where, as soon as his back is turned, the innkeeper's daughter attempts to pluck just one of the feathers of pure gold, and is stuck fast (Greed A-T Type 68A; Justice is Served). Her sister, coming to help her, is stuck fast too. And the youngest (Least of Three), determined not to be left out of the riches, is stuck to the second. Dummling makes his way to the castle, and each person who attempts to interfere is joined to the unwilling parade: the parson, his sexton, and two laborers.

In the castle lives the king with the Princess (the Princess Prize) who has never laughed. But the despondent Princess, sitting by the window and glimpsing the parade staggering after Dummling and his golden goose, laughs until she cries. Dummling, after three more impossible trials including finding a ship that sails on land and sea, sometimes inserted in the tale, in each of which he is assisted by the little gray man, wins the Princess and everyone lives happily ever after.

"The Golden Goose" falls in Aarne-Thompson Type 571, All Stick Together; the appended episode is of A-T Type 513B, The Land-and-Water Ship.

Folklorist D.L. Ashliman has pointed out other versions of a Golden Fowl theme: The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs (Aesop); The Golden Mallard (from the Jataka stories of the Buddha's former births); the Huma bird (Persia).^[1]

Modern interpretations

A musical version of The Golden Goose, written by Dieter Stegmann and Alexander S. Bermange was presented at the Amphitheater Park Schloss Philippsruhe, Hanau, Germany as part of the Brothers Grimm Festival in 2006. It was also featured as an episode of the PC Game American McGee's Grimm where the goose is 10 times its size and its victims have their bodies completely stuck to the goose rather than falling in a conga line as in the story.

Translation into French ^[2] and audio-file on.^[3]

References

External links

SurLaLune's The Annotated Golden Goose
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt, London: George Bell, 1884. e-text
D.L. Ashliman, "The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)": gives Aarne-Thompson types

The Brothers Grimm

Key articles	Jacob Grimm Wilhelm Grimm Grimms' Fairy Tales Deutsche Sagen Deutsche Mythologie

Notable tales	The Frog Prince Cat and Mouse in Partnership Mary's Child The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids Trusty John The Wonderful Musician The Twelve Brothers Brother and Sister Rapunzel The Three Little Men in the Wood The Three Spinners Hansel and Gretel The White Snake The Fisherman and His Wife The Brave Little Tailor Cinderella The Riddle Little Red Riding Hood Town Musicians of Bremen Snow White Rumpelstiltskin Sleeping Beauty

Other	Grimm's law Göttingen Seven Grim Tales The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics The Brothers Grimm Grimm Tales The Sisters Grimm Fairy tale American McGee's Grimm German Fairy Tale Route Grimm Once Upon a Time

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