Grimm Reviews – “Mr. Korbes”

My introductory post.  

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“Mr. Korbes”

A cock and a hen wanted to go visit a Mr. Korbes. So the cock built a little carriage pulled by four mice. Along the way they met a cat who asked to go with them. They agreed and the cat got in the carriage.

Later, they came across in turn, a mill stone, an egg, a duck, a pin, and a needle, who all got in the carriage to go to Mr. Korbes. But Mr. Korbes was not at home.

So the mice took the carriage into his barn, the cock and hen perched on a beam, the cat sat by the fire, the duck settle in some water in the sink (apparently), the egg wrapped up in a towel, the pin stuck itself in a chair cushion, the needle got in bed with the pillows, and the mill stone laid by the door.

When Mr. Korbes returned, he went to build up the fire but the cat – for some reason – threw ashes in his eyes. He went into the kitchen and the duck splashed water on his face. When he tried to dry his face with the towel, the egg broke. He tried to sit down, and the pin stuck him. He jumped into bed, and hit the needle. And when he finally tried to run out of the house, the mill stone killed him.

The last line in the story is “What a bad man Mr. Korbes must have been!”

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I have some questions about this “story.” I could almost see this as almost a bunch of little pranks they pulled on him, right up until they killed him. Did all of these things have some reason to wish Mr. Korbes ill, or is this a “bad things happen to bad people” type of story, and since so many bad things happened to Mr. Korbes, there must have been a reason.

Or am I missing something? Would the people from hundreds of years ago have recognized the cat as referring to … the French, or something?

Grimm Reviews – “The Dog and the Sparrow”

My introductory post.  

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“The Dog and the Sparrow”

There once was a sheep dog whose owner didn’t feed him. When he grew too hungry, he left. As he walked down the street, he met a sparrow who asked him why he was there. When the dog explained he was hungry, the sparrow said to follow him and he would get him plenty to eat.

They stopped at a butcher’s stall, and the sparrow pulled a piece of meat off a table for the dog to eat. They did this a second time, and then the dog asked for some bread. So they went to a couple of baker’s stalls and the sparrow pulled some rolls down for the dog.

After he had eaten, the dog and sparrow walked out of town and the dog fell asleep on the road. The sparrow sat above in a tree and watched. A wagon came along pulled by three horses and the sparrow cried out for the wagoner to stop, but the wagoner didn’t fear a sparrow and he drove over the dog and killed him. The sparrow swore revenge, and the wagoner just laughed.

The sparrow flew into the wagon which was loaded with two casks of wine. He pecked at one until the cork came out and the wine flowed out. The wagoner didn’t notice until it was too late.

The sparrow wanted to do more damage to the man, so he pecked out the eyes of one of the horses. The man tried to hit the sparrow with his ax, but instead just killed his horse.

When the man continued one his way, the sparrow knocked out the cork of the second cask of wine. The sparrow then pecked out the eyes of a second, and then the third horse and again the man in his anger tried to kill the sparrow with his ax and only succeeded in killing his last two horses.

The sparrow then flew to the man’s house. When the man arrived, his wife explained that all the birds were there eating their wheat.

The sparrow still wasn’t full on revenge, and vowed that by killing the dog the wagoner would die. As the sparrow flew around his home, the man beat at him with his ax and only succeeded in breaking everything.

Eventually, the man caught the sparrow. But instead of just killing it, for that would be too easy, the man put the sparrow in his mouth to swallow it. But instead of swallowing it, when the sparrow spoke up from his mouth, the man handed his wife the ax and she tried to kill the sparrow but only killed her husband. And the sparrow flew off.

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You’d think a talking dog would be such a unique being it would be well fed.

So, if the idiot dog didn’t sleep in the middle of the road, none of this would have happened.

What did the horses do to the sparrow? Why did he hold a grudge against them?

What was up with the sparrow? He meets a dog in need and he helps it out. Half-an-hour later, when the dog is killed – because he went to sleep in the middle of the road – the sparrow goes on a murderous rampage. What the hell?

And who, after killing a horse with an ax by missing a bird, would go on to do it twice more?

Or maybe, this was just a story made up by the wife to explain why her husband had an ax in his head.

Grimm Reviews – “The Hare and the Hedgehog”

My introductory post.  

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“The Hare and the Hedgehog”

One Sunday, a hedgehog was standing at his door enjoying the morning. He decided to go visit the turnips, and set out. On the way, he met a hare, who was going to check on some cabbages.

The hedgehog gave a friendly “Good morning,” but the hare snapped back asking what he was doing out so early. The hedgehog said he was taking a walk, and the hare then made a crack about the hedgehog’s crooked legs, which the hedgehog took offense to. So the hedgehog challenged the hare to a race.

The hare wanted to race then, but the hedgehog held him off for half an hour so he could have his breakfast. He went back home and got his wife to dress like him and go out.

The hedgehog set up the race so that he and the hare would run in two furrows. He set his wife at one end, while he went to the other. So no matter how fast the hare ran, there was a hedgehog at the end already.

The hare was so confused, that he kept rerunning the race, but no matter how fast he went, the hedgehog kept “winning.” Eventually, the hare died and the hedgehogs went home.

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I’m not sure who to dislike more in this story, the hare for being so stupid, or the hedgehogs for being so cruel.