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Hans in Luck
Hans in Luck
Hans in Luck
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in 1785 and 1786 near
Frankfurt, Germany. In their early twenties, they began the
linguistic studies that would culminate in their collected
editions of folk- and fairy tales. They got their stories from
peasants and villagers, and sometimes from already-published
works from other cultures. Jacob did much of the research;
Wilhelm put the stories into literary form.
Characters:
Here are the following characters in the Fairy Tale/Folk Tale:
Hans: The protagonist of the story. He is a simple-minded and
optimistic fellow who embarks on a journey after trading his
possessions for something he considers more valuable at each
step, ultimately ending up with nothing but a piece of gold.
Hans's mother: Although she is not present throughout the story,
Hans mentions her several times. She's the one who sends him off
with a lump of gold.
The butcher: Hans first trades his lump of gold to the butcher
for something he finds more valuable—a piece of meat.
The horse dealer: He trades his meat for a horse, as he believes
the horse would be a better possession to have.
The farmer: The next trade is made with the farmer, who takes the
horse and gives Hans a cow in return.
The shepherd: In exchange for the cow, Hans receives a pig from
the shepherd.
The shepherdess: Finally, Hans trades the pig to a shepherdess
for a goose, which he considers his greatest acquisition yet.
The grinding mill: In the end, Hans loses the goose when it gets
caught in the wheel of a grinding mill.
Plot:
Hans is a somewhat simple young man who considers himself to be
very lucky.
After seven years of hard work, Hans tells his employer that he
wants to go home to see his mother. Hans' employer pays him by
giving him a lump of silver as big as his head. Hans wraps the
lump of silver in a cloth and begins his long walk home. When he
sees a man on a horse, Hans says aloud that he wishes he had a
horse too. The horseman agrees to sell Hans the horse in exchange
for his lump of silver.
Hans rides the horse slowly for some time. When he decides to
make the horse go faster, Hans falls off it. Cursing the horse,
Hans says that wishes he was rid of it. At that moment, a farmer
with a cow happens to be passing. The farmer says that he will
take Hans' horse in exchange for his cow. Hans is delighted to
have a cow that he thinks will provide him with milk, butter, and
cheese.
Hans comes across a grinder, who sharpens knives and other such
implements. The grinder is happily singing. He explains to Hans
that he is doing that because, like all grinders, he is rich. The
grinder admires Hans' goose and asks him where he got it. Hans
tells the grinder the whole story of how he started off with a
lump of silver as big as his head and how through a series of
exchanges he came to have a goose. The grinder congratulates Hans
on his good fortune and says that if he wants to stay lucky, he
should become a grinder too. The grinder agrees to sell Hans a
used grindstone in exchange for his goose. The stone that he
gives Hans is just an ordinary rock that he picked up off the
ground.
The rock is very heavy and carrying it slows down Hans' progress
considerably. When he is not far from home, Hans feels thirsty
again and stops at a river to drink. The rock falls into the
river and is lost. Hans is delighted to be rid of the heavy
stone. Feeling luckier than ever, Hans continues his journey home
and looks forward to telling his mother all about his good
fortune.