Clever Hans

: Grimms' Fairy Tales

The mother of Hans said: 'Whither away, Hans?' Hans answered: 'To

Gretel.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'Oh, I'll behave well. Goodbye, mother.'

'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans comes to Gretel. 'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day,

Hans. What do you bring that is good?' 'I bring nothing, I want to have

something given me.' Gretel presents Hans with a needle, Hans says:

'Goodbye, Gretel.' 'Goodbye, Hans.'



Hans takes the needle, st
cks it into a hay-cart, and follows the cart

home. 'Good evening, mother.' 'Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?'

'With Gretel.' 'What did you take her?' 'Took nothing; had something

given me.' 'What did Gretel give you?' 'Gave me a needle.' 'Where is the

needle, Hans?' 'Stuck in the hay-cart.' 'That was ill done, Hans. You

should have stuck the needle in your sleeve.' 'Never mind, I'll do

better next time.'



'Whither away, Hans?' 'To Gretel, mother.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'Oh,

I'll behave well. Goodbye, mother.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans comes to

Gretel. 'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day, Hans. What do you bring that is

good?' 'I bring nothing. I want to have something given to me.' Gretel

presents Hans with a knife. 'Goodbye, Gretel.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans

takes the knife, sticks it in his sleeve, and goes home. 'Good evening,

mother.' 'Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?' 'With Gretel.' What

did you take her?' 'Took her nothing, she gave me something.' 'What did

Gretel give you?' 'Gave me a knife.' 'Where is the knife, Hans?' 'Stuck

in my sleeve.' 'That's ill done, Hans, you should have put the knife in

your pocket.' 'Never mind, will do better next time.'



'Whither away, Hans?' 'To Gretel, mother.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'Oh,

I'll behave well. Goodbye, mother.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans comes to

Gretel. 'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day, Hans. What good thing do you

bring?' 'I bring nothing, I want something given me.' Gretel presents

Hans with a young goat. 'Goodbye, Gretel.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans takes

the goat, ties its legs, and puts it in his pocket. When he gets home it

is suffocated. 'Good evening, mother.' 'Good evening, Hans. Where have

you been?' 'With Gretel.' 'What did you take her?' 'Took nothing, she

gave me something.' 'What did Gretel give you?' 'She gave me a goat.'

'Where is the goat, Hans?' 'Put it in my pocket.' 'That was ill done,

Hans, you should have put a rope round the goat's neck.' 'Never mind,

will do better next time.'



'Whither away, Hans?' 'To Gretel, mother.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'Oh,

I'll behave well. Goodbye, mother.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans comes to

Gretel. 'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day, Hans. What good thing do you

bring?' 'I bring nothing, I want something given me.' Gretel presents

Hans with a piece of bacon. 'Goodbye, Gretel.' 'Goodbye, Hans.'



Hans takes the bacon, ties it to a rope, and drags it away behind him.

The dogs come and devour the bacon. When he gets home, he has the rope

in his hand, and there is no longer anything hanging on to it. 'Good

evening, mother.' 'Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?' 'With

Gretel.' 'What did you take her?' 'I took her nothing, she gave me

something.' 'What did Gretel give you?' 'Gave me a bit of bacon.' 'Where

is the bacon, Hans?' 'I tied it to a rope, brought it home, dogs took

it.' 'That was ill done, Hans, you should have carried the bacon on your

head.' 'Never mind, will do better next time.'



'Whither away, Hans?' 'To Gretel, mother.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'I'll

behave well. Goodbye, mother.' 'Goodbye, Hans.' Hans comes to Gretel.

'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day, Hans, What good thing do you bring?' 'I

bring nothing, but would have something given.' Gretel presents Hans

with a calf. 'Goodbye, Gretel.' 'Goodbye, Hans.'



Hans takes the calf, puts it on his head, and the calf kicks his face.

'Good evening, mother.' 'Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?' 'With

Gretel.' 'What did you take her?' 'I took nothing, but had something

given me.' 'What did Gretel give you?' 'A calf.' 'Where have you the

calf, Hans?' 'I set it on my head and it kicked my face.' 'That was

ill done, Hans, you should have led the calf, and put it in the stall.'

'Never mind, will do better next time.'



'Whither away, Hans?' 'To Gretel, mother.' 'Behave well, Hans.' 'I'll

behave well. Goodbye, mother.' 'Goodbye, Hans.'



Hans comes to Gretel. 'Good day, Gretel.' 'Good day, Hans. What good

thing do you bring?' 'I bring nothing, but would have something given.'

Gretel says to Hans: 'I will go with you.'



Hans takes Gretel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack, and binds

her fast. Then Hans goes to his mother. 'Good evening, mother.' 'Good

evening, Hans. Where have you been?' 'With Gretel.' 'What did you take

her?' 'I took her nothing.' 'What did Gretel give you?' 'She gave me

nothing, she came with me.' 'Where have you left Gretel?' 'I led her by

the rope, tied her to the rack, and scattered some grass for her.' 'That

was ill done, Hans, you should have cast friendly eyes on her.' 'Never

mind, will do better.'



Hans went into the stable, cut out all the calves' and sheep's eyes,

and threw them in Gretel's face. Then Gretel became angry, tore herself

loose and ran away, and was no longer the bride of Hans.



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