The Thief and His Master
Encyclopedia
The Thief and His Master is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
as tale number 68.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 325, The Magician and His Pupil, containing a transformation chase. Others of this type include Farmer Weathersky
and Master and Pupil
. This tale type is well known in India and Europe and notably stable in form. A literary variant is Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi
.
The son changes himself to a dog, his father sells him, and the son escapes. The son then changed himself to a horse, warning his father not to sell him with the bridle, his father sells him to the master-thief without taking off the bridle. When the master-thief stables him, he asks the maid to take off the bridle, and she is so surprised that he talks that she does so. The son and the master-thief interchange a transformation chase — first sparrows, then fish — with throwing lots, and the son ends it by turning into a fox when the master is a cock, and biting its head off.
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...
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
as tale number 68.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 325, The Magician and His Pupil, containing a transformation chase. Others of this type include Farmer Weathersky
Farmer Weathersky
Farmer Weathersky is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Chr. Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book as "Farmer Weatherbeard"....
and Master and Pupil
Master and Pupil
"Master and Pupil" is a Danish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 325, "The Magician and His Pupil".-Synopsis:...
. This tale type is well known in India and Europe and notably stable in form. A literary variant is Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi
Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi
Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in The Facetious Nights of Straparola....
.
Synopsis
A man apprenticed his son to a master-thief, who said he should pay nothing for the education, but if he could not recognize him, then he would have to pay. When he returned after a year, a dwarf advised him to bring bread, and that the little bird peeping from the basket he finds there is his son. By this means, he gets his son back.The son changes himself to a dog, his father sells him, and the son escapes. The son then changed himself to a horse, warning his father not to sell him with the bridle, his father sells him to the master-thief without taking off the bridle. When the master-thief stables him, he asks the maid to take off the bridle, and she is so surprised that he talks that she does so. The son and the master-thief interchange a transformation chase — first sparrows, then fish — with throwing lots, and the son ends it by turning into a fox when the master is a cock, and biting its head off.