The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage | |
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![]() 1912 illustration by Robert Anning Bell | |
Folk tale | |
Name | The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage |
Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 85 |
Country | Germany |
Published in | Grimms' Fairy Tales |
"The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage" (German: Von dem Mäuschen, Vögelchen und der Bratwurst) is Tale 23 of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is Aarne-Thompson number 85.[1]
Synopsis
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Household_stories_Bros_Grimm_%28L_%26_W_Crane%29_headpiece_p126.png/220px-Household_stories_Bros_Grimm_%28L_%26_W_Crane%29_headpiece_p126.png)
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage live happily together. The Bird brings home wood from the forest; the Mouse delivers water, makes the cooking fire, lays the table; and the Sausage cooks.
One day, the Bird has a chat with some other birds. They make fun of the Bird, saying that while the Mouse and Sausage sit comfortably at home, the Bird is sent out to do all the work.The next day, the Bird demands that they switch roles and refuses to go to the forest. The Mouse and the Sausage oppose the idea at first, but in the end, they give in. The Bird now is responsible for bringing home the water, the Mouse cooks, and the Sausage goes to the forest to collect wood.
The Sausage leaves to gather wood in the forest early in the morning but does not come home again. The Bird gets worried and starts looking for it. Soon, it finds a dog, who has attacked and eaten the Sausage. The Bird lodges a complaint against the dog, but the dog lies and says that the Sausage was carrying forged letters, and therefore it needed to be punished with its life. The Bird cannot argue, so it goes home and tells the Mouse what has happened. They decide that they will have to do their best themselves from now on.
The Mouse starts to cook. It imitates the Sausage, rolling himself in the pot to mix and season the food. However, the Mouse cannot stand the heat and is boiled alive. The Bird comes home from the forest. It panics as it cannot find the Mouse and starts throwing the wood around the house. It yells and searches, but suddenly the wood catches fire. In order to put out the fire, the Bird goes to the well to get some water. It falls into the well after dropping the bucket. The Bird cannot get back out and drowns.
References
- ^ D. L. Ashliman, "The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine"
External links
Works related to The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage at Wikisource
Media related to The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage at Wikimedia Commons
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- Grimms' Fairy Tales
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tales
- "Bearskin"
- "The Brave Little Tailor"
- "Brother and Sister"
- "Cat and Mouse in Partnership"
- "Cinderella"
- "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs"
- "Doctor Know-all"
- "The Dog and the Sparrow"
- "The Elves and the Shoemaker"
- "The Fisherman and His Wife"
- "The Four Skillful Brothers"
- "The Frog Prince"
- "The Gnome"
- "Godfather Death"
- "The Golden Bird"
- "The Golden Goose"
- "The Goose Girl"
- "The Goose-Girl at the Well"
- "The Grave Mound"
- "Hans My Hedgehog"
- "Hansel and Gretel"
- "The Hut in the Forest"
- "The Jew Among Thorns"
- "Jorinde and Joringel"
- "The Juniper Tree"
- "The King of the Golden Mountain"
- "King Thrushbeard"
- "Little Red Riding Hood"
- "Mary's Child"
- "Mother Holle"
- "Old Hildebrand"
- "Old Sultan"
- "Pied Piper of Hamelin"
- "The Queen Bee"
- "Rapunzel"
- "The Riddle"
- "The Robber Bridegroom"
- "Rumpelstiltskin"
- "The Seven Ravens"
- "The Singing, Springing Lark"
- "The Six Servants"
- "The Six Swans"
- "Sleeping Beauty"
- "Snow White"
- "Snow-White and Rose-Red"
- "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was"
- "The Three Little Men in the Wood"
- "The Three Spinners"
- "Thumbling"
- "Town Musicians of Bremen"
- "Trusty John"
- "The Turnip"
- "The Twelve Brothers"
- "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"
- "The Water of Life"
- "The White Snake"
- "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats"
- "The Wonderful Musician"
- Grimm's law
- Göttingen Seven
- Grim Tales
- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
- Once Upon a 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
- The 10th Kingdom
- The Grimm Variations
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Commons