The Four Skillful Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Four Skillful Brothers is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
, tale number 129. It is Aarne-Thompson type 653.
Not long after, the king's daughter
was stolen by a dragon
. The brothers set out to rescue her. The astronomer used his telescope to find her and asked for a ship to reach where she was being held captive. The huntsman did not dare shoot the dragon for fear of killing her as well. The thief, however, stole her, and they set out back to the king. The dragon followed, and the huntsman killed him, but when the dragon fell into the ocean, the resulting wave swamped the boat. The tailor sewed it back together again.
The king did not know which man to give his daughter to, because all had been essential. He gave them each a quarter of the kingdom instead, and they agreed that that was better than their quarreling.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, tale number 129. It is Aarne-Thompson type 653.
Synopsis
A poor old father sent his sons out to learn trades. Each one met a man and was persuaded to learn the trade of the man whom he had met. In this manner, the oldest son became a thief, the second an astronomer, the third a huntsman, the fourth a tailor. When they returned, their father put them to the test. He asked his second son how many eggs there were in a nest, high on the tree, and the second used his telescope to tell him five. Then the eldest went up and stole them without the bird's being aware; the third shot all of them with one shot; the fourth sewed both the chicks and the eggs back up, so that when the eldest put them back without the mother bird's noticing, they hatched, the only sign being some red thread about their necks.Not long after, the king's daughter
Princess and dragon
Princess and dragon is a generic premise common to many legends and fairy tales. It is not a fairy tale itself, but along with Prince Charming, is a repeated cliché...
was stolen by a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. The brothers set out to rescue her. The astronomer used his telescope to find her and asked for a ship to reach where she was being held captive. The huntsman did not dare shoot the dragon for fear of killing her as well. The thief, however, stole her, and they set out back to the king. The dragon followed, and the huntsman killed him, but when the dragon fell into the ocean, the resulting wave swamped the boat. The tailor sewed it back together again.
The king did not know which man to give his daughter to, because all had been essential. He gave them each a quarter of the kingdom instead, and they agreed that that was better than their quarreling.
See also
- The FleaThe Flea (fairy tale)The Flea is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.-Synopsis:A king raised a flea until it was the size of a sheep. Then he had it skinned and promised his daughter in marriage to whoever could guess what the skin came from. An ogre...
- The Five Chinese BrothersThe Five Chinese BrothersThe Five Chinese Brothers is an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. It was originally published in 1938 by Coward-McCann.The book is a retelling of a Chinese folk tale.-Plot:...