Grimm's Fairy Tales | Dr Knowall | Clever Gretel

Enjoy this reading of two of the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales... "Doctor Knowall" and "Clever Gretel"!

The Grimm's Fairy Tales were originally a collection of over 200 folk tales, collected by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in Germany and published in the early 1800s... There are many different stories in the collection and many of them are indeed quite "grim", yet they form the backbones of so many of our familiar fairy tales today!

Transcript

Hello there,

Thank you so much for joining me for this reading of two more of the Grimm's Fairy Tales.

This will be Dr.

Nowall and Clever Gretel.

The Grimm's Fairy Tales are a collection of more than 200 folk tales that were collected up by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in Germany and published back in the early 1800s.

There are so many different stories that they published and many of them indeed are quite grim by our modern standards.

But before we get any further into these stories,

Let's just take a moment here to have a nice deep exhale,

Letting go of the day,

Letting go of whichever baggage we might be bringing along with us into this moment.

For right now there's nothing else we have to do,

Nowhere else that we have to be.

So we can just relax,

Get ourselves comfortable and enjoy the interesting,

Grim stories of Dr.

Nowall and Clever Gretel.

Dr.

Nowall.

There was once upon a time a poor peasant called Crab who drove with two oxen a load of wood to the town and sold it to a doctor for two tailors.

When the money was being counted out to him,

It so happened that the doctor was sitting at a table and when the peasant saw how well he ate and drank,

His heart desired what he saw and would willingly have been a doctor too.

So he remained standing a while and at length inquired if he too could not be a doctor.

Oh yes,

Said the doctor,

That is soon managed.

What must I do?

Asked the peasant.

In the first place,

Buy yourself an ABC book of the kind which has a cockerel on the frontispiece.

In the second,

Turn your cart and your two oxen into money and get yourself some clothes and whatsoever else pertains to medicine.

Thirdly,

Have a sign painted for yourself with the words I am Dr.

Nowall and have that nailed up above your house door.

The peasant did everything that he had been told to do.

When he had doctored people a while,

But not long,

A rich and great lord had some money stolen.

Then he was told about Dr.

Nowall who lived in such and such a village and must know what had become of the money.

So the lord had the horses harnessed to his carriage,

Drove out to the village and asked Crabbe if he were Dr.

Nowall.

Yes,

He was,

He said.

Then he was to go with him and bring back the stolen money.

Oh yes,

But Greta,

My wife,

Must go too.

The lord was willing and let both of them have a seat in the carriage and they all drove away together.

When they came to the nobleman's castle,

The table was spread and Crabbe was told to sit down and eat.

Yes,

But my wife,

Greta,

Too,

Said he and he seated himself with her at the table.

And when the first servant came with a dish of delicate fare,

The peasant nudged his wife and Greta,

That was the first.

Meaning that was the servant who brought the first dish.

The servant,

However,

Thought he intended by that to say that is the first thief.

And as he actually was so,

He was terrified and said to his comrade outside,

The doctor knows all.

We shall fare ill.

He said I was the first.

The second did not want to go in at all,

But was forced.

So when he went in with his dish,

The peasant nudged his wife and said,

Greta,

That is the second.

This servant was equally alarmed and he got out as fast as he could.

The third fared no better for the peasant again said,

Greta,

That is the third.

The fourth had to carry in a dish that was covered and the Lord told the doctor that he was to show his skill and guess what was beneath the cover.

Actually,

There were crabs.

The doctor looked at the dish,

Had no idea what to say and cried.

Ah,

Poor crab.

When the Lord heard that,

He cried,

There,

He knows it.

He must also know who has the money.

On this,

The servants looked terribly uneasy and made a sign to the doctor that they wished him to step outside for a moment.

When,

Therefore,

He went out,

All four of them confessed to him that they had stolen the money and said that they would willingly restore it and give him a heavy sum into the bargain if he would not denounce them.

For if he did,

They would be hanged.

They led him to the spot where the money was concealed.

With this,

The doctor was satisfied and returned to the hall,

Sat down to the table and said,

My Lord,

Now will I search in my book where the gold is hidden.

The fifth servant,

However,

Crept into the stove to hear if the doctor knew still more.

But the doctor sat still and opened his ABC book,

Turned the pages backwards and forwards and looked for the cockerel.

As he could not find it immediately,

He said,

I know you were there,

So you had better come out.

Then the fellow in the stove thought that the doctor meant him and full of terror sprang out crying,

That man knows everything.

Then doctor know all showed the Lord where the money was,

But did not say who had stolen it and received from both sides much money in reward and became a renowned man.

Clever Gretel.

There was once a cook named Gretel who wore shoes with red heels and when she walked out with them on,

She turned herself this way and that,

Was quite happy and you certainly are a pretty girl.

And when she came home,

She drank,

In her gladness of heart,

A draught of wine.

And as wine excites a desire to eat,

She tasted the best of whatever she was cooking until she was satisfied and said,

The cook must know what the food is like.

It came to pass that the master one day said to her,

Gretel,

There is a guest coming this evening,

Prepare me two fowls very daintily.

I will see to it,

Master,

Answered Gretel.

She killed two fowls,

Scalded them,

Plucked them,

Put them on the spit and towards evening,

Set them before the fire that they might roast.

The fowls began to turn brown and were nearly ready,

But the guest had not yet arrived.

Then Gretel called out to her master,

If the guest does not come,

I must take the fowls away from the fire.

But it will be a sin and a shame if they are not eaten the moment they are at their juiciest.

The master said,

I will run myself and fetch the guest.

When the master had turned his back,

Gretel laid the spit with the fowls on one side and thought,

Standing so long by the fire there makes one sweat and thirsty.

Who knows when they will come?

Meanwhile,

I will run into the cellar and take a drink.

She ran down,

Set a jug,

Said,

God bless it for you,

Gretel,

And took a good drink and thought that wine should flow on and should not be interrupted and took yet another hearty draft.

Then she went and put the fowls down again to the fire,

Basted them and drove the spit merrily round.

But as the roast meat smelt so good,

Gretel thought,

Something might be wrong.

It ought to be tasted.

She touched it with her finger and said,

Oh,

How good fowls are.

It certainly is a sin and a shame that they are not eaten at the right time.

She ran to the window to see if the master was not coming with his guest,

But she saw no one and went back to the fowls and thought,

One of the wings is burning.

I had better take it off and eat it.

So she cut it off,

Ate it and enjoyed it.

And when she had done,

She thought,

Well,

The other must go down too,

Or else master will observe that something is missing.

When the two wings were eaten,

She went and looked for her master and did not see him.

It suddenly occurred to her,

Who knows,

They are perhaps not coming at all and have turned in somewhere.

Then she said,

Well,

Gretel,

Enjoy yourself.

One fowl has been cut into,

Take another drink and eat it up entirely.

When it is eaten,

You will have some peace.

Why should God's good gifts be spoiled?

So she ran into the cellar again,

Took an enormous drink and ate up the one chicken in great glee.

When one of the chickens was swallowed down and still her master did not come,

Gretel looked at the other and said,

What one is,

The other should be likewise.

The two go together.

What's right for the one is right for the other.

I think if I were to take another draft,

It would do me no harm.

So she took another hearty drink and let the second chicken follow the first.

While she was making the most of it,

Her master came and cried,

Hurry up,

Gretel,

The guest is coming directly after me.

Yes,

Sir,

I will soon serve up,

Answered Gretel.

Meantime,

The master looked to see that the table was properly laid and took the great knife wherewith he was going to carve the chickens and sharpened it on the steps.

Presently,

The guest came and knocked politely and courteously at the house door.

Gretel ran and looked to see who was there.

And when she saw the guest,

She put her finger to her lips and said,

Hush,

Hush,

Go away as quickly as you can.

If my master catches you,

It will be the worst for you.

He certainly did ask you to supper,

But his intention is to cut off your two ears.

Just listen how he is sharpening the knife for it.

The guest heard the sharpening and hurried down the steps again as far as he could.

Gretel was not idle.

She ran screaming to her master and cried,

You have invited a fine guest.

Why,

Gretel,

What do you mean by that?

Yes,

Said she.

He has taken the chickens,

Which I was just going to serve up,

Off the dish and has run away with them.

That's a nice trick,

Said her master and lamented the fine chickens.

If he had but left me one so that something remained for me to eat.

He called to him to stop,

But the guest pretended not to hear.

Then he ran after him with the knife still in his hand,

Crying,

Just one,

Just one,

Meaning that the guest should leave him just one chicken and not take both.

The guest,

However,

Thought no otherwise than that he was to give up one of his ears and ran as if fire were burning under him in order to take them both with him.