The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids

 5. The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geisslein)

There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So she called all seven to her and said, “Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be on your guard against the wolf; if he come in, he will devour you all—skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.” The kids said, “Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any anxiety.” Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.

It was not long before some one knocked at the house-door and called, “Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something back with her for each of you.” But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice; “We will not open the door,” cried they, “thou art not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, but thy voice is rough; thou art the wolf!” Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. The he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried, “Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has brought something back with her for each of you.” But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw them and cried, “We will not open the door, our mother has not black feet like thee; thou art the wolf.” Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, “I have hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me.” And when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said, “Strew some white meal over my feet for me.” The miller thought to himself, “The wolf wants to deceive someone,” and refused; but the wolf said, “If thou wilt not do it, I will devour thee.” Then the miller was afraid, and made his paws white for him. Truly men are like that.

So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at it and said, “Open the door for me, children, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something back from the forest with her.” The little kids cried, “First show us thy paws that we may know if thou art our dear little mother.” Then he put his paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they were white, they believed that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf! They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest, who was in the clock-case, was the only one he did not find. When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep. Soon afterwards the old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! What a sight she saw there! The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried, “Dear mother, I am in the clock-case.” She took the kid out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor children.

At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged belly. “Ah, heavens,” said she, “is it possible that my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?” Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cut open the monster’s stomach, and hardly had she make one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was! They embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a sailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, “Now go and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast’s stomach with them while he is still asleep.” Then the seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he,

“What rumbles and tumbles
Against my poor bones?
I thought ’t was six kids,
But it’s naught but big stones.”

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water and was just about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in, and there was no help, but he had to drown miserably. When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud, “The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!” and danced for joy round about the well with their mother.

My Notes

• This is the translation of Margaret Hunt.
• This is tale type 123. It bears a passing similarity to tales of type 124 (The Three Little Pigs)
• This story was present in all seven editions of Grimms' collection, and was always placed as the fifth tale. Various minor edits were made in later editions.

1812 version

A goat had seven kids whom she loved very much and carefully protected from the wolf. One day, when she had to go out to fetch food, she called everyone together and said, "Dear children, I have to go out and fetch food, beware of the wolf and don't let him in. Be careful too, because he often disguises himself, but you can recognize him by his rough voice and his black paws. Beware, once he is in the house, he will eat you all together."

Then she went away, but soon the wolf came to the front door and called, "Dear children, open for me, I am your mother and have brought you nice things.”

But the seven little kids said, “You are not our mother, she has a fine, lovely voice, and your voice is rough, You are the wolf, and we won't open up to you."

But the wolf, thinking of a ruse, went off to a grocer and bought himself a large piece of chalk, which he ate and made his voice soft with it. Then he went back to the front door of the seven little goats and called in a soft voice: "Dear children, let me in, I am your mother, and have brought something for each of you."

But he had put his paw at the window, and the seven kids saw it and said, “You are not our mother, she does not have black feet like you. You are the wolf, and we won’t open up to you.”

The wolf went away to a baker and said, “Baker, spread fresh dough on my paw.” And when that was done he went to the miller and said: “Miller, sprinkle your white flour on my paw.”

The miller said no, so the wolf said, "If you don't do it, I'll eat you." So the miller had to do it.

Then the wolf went back to the front door of the seven goats and said: "Dear children, let me in, I am your mother, and have brought something for each of you."

The seven goats first wanted to see the paw, and when they saw that it was white and heard the wolf talking so softly, they thought it was their mother and opened the door and the wolf came in. But when they recognized him, they quickly hid as best they could, one under the table, the second in the bed, the third in the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the sixth under a large bowl, and the seventh into the big clock. But the wolf found them all and swallowed them except for the youngest one in the big clock, who was not eaten.

When the wolf had satisfied his cravings, he went away, and soon afterwards the old goat came home. What a shock! The wolf had been there and had eaten her dear children. She thought they were all dead when the youngest jumped out of the big clock and told how the accident had happened.

The wolf, because he had eaten his fill, went into a green meadow, where he lay down in the sunshine and fell into a deep sleep. The old goat wondered whether she might still be able to save her children, so she said to the youngest kid, "Take thread, needle, and scissors and follow me."

Then she went out and found the wolf lying snoring in the meadow. "There lies the nasty wolf," she said and looked at him from all sides. "He's eaten my six children for his four o'clock meal! Give me the scissors. Oh! Oh, how I hope they're still alive in his body!”

With that she cut open his stomach and the six little goats, which he had swallowed whole in his greed, jumped out unharmed. She told them to go straight away and bring large, heavy boulders, which she filled the wolf's body with. Then she sewed him up again, and they all ran away and hid behind a hedge.

When the wolf had had a good sleep, his body felt so heavy that he said, "It's rumbling and thumping around in my body! It's rumbling and thumping around in my body! What is the meaning of it? I only ate six goats.”

He thought he wanted a fresh drink, as it might help him, and looked for a well. But when he bent over it, he could no longer hold on to the weight of the stones and fell into the water. When the seven goats saw it, they came running and danced around the well for joy.