Going A-Travelling (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
A poor youth sets out to travel with his simple phrase
A poor woman lived with her son who desperately wanted to travel the world. When he expressed his desire to go on a journey, his mother pointed out the obvious problem with his plan.
There was once a poor woman who had a son, who much wished to travel, but his mother said, 'How canst thou travel? We have no money at all for thee to take away with thee.'
Undeterred by their lack of funds, the son assured his mother that he would manage perfectly well on his own. He declared that he would always say the same simple phrase during his travels. With this plan in mind, he set off on his journey, walking for a long time while repeatedly saying his chosen words.
The fishermen teach him about appropriate words
The youth encountered a group of fishermen working with their nets. He greeted them cheerfully and repeated his usual phrase, but his words proved to be highly inappropriate for the situation. The fishermen had caught very little fish, and his comment seemed like a cruel mockery of their poor catch.
Enraged by what they perceived as an insult, one of the fishermen attacked the youth with a stick, beating him severely. When the confused young man asked what he should have said instead, they instructed him to say 'Get it full, get it full' when greeting fishermen. The youth accepted this correction and continued on his way, now repeating this new phrase as he walked.
At the gallows: learning to show proper respect
After walking for some time with his new phrase, the youth came upon a gallows where executioners were preparing to hang a condemned criminal. He cheerfully greeted them with his recently learned words, completely unaware of how inappropriate they were in this solemn context.
The executioners were outraged by his suggestion that they should 'get it full,' interpreting this as a wish for more criminals to be executed. They beat him again for his insensitive comment. When the youth asked what he should say in such circumstances, they told him the proper phrase was 'May God have pity on the poor soul.' He accepted this correction and walked on, now repeating these words of compassion.
The knacker and the lesson about carrion
Continuing his journey while saying his prayer for souls, the youth came to a pit where a knacker was cutting up a dead horse. He greeted the man with his latest phrase, asking God to have pity on the poor soul, which the knacker took as a personal insult.
'What dost thou say, thou ill-tempered knave?' and the knacker gave him such a box on the ear, that he could not see out of his eyes.
The violent blow left the youth temporarily blinded and in great pain. When he asked what he should have said instead, the knacker told him the appropriate phrase for such a situation was 'There lies the carrion in the pit!' The youth memorized this new phrase and continued his journey, faithfully repeating these words as he walked along the road.
The cart incident and the end of his travels
Walking along while repeating his phrase about carrion, the youth encountered a cart full of people traveling along the road. Following his established pattern, he greeted them cheerfully with his most recently learned phrase, completely oblivious to how offensive his words would sound to living people.
The passengers were horrified and enraged by his suggestion that they were carrion lying in a pit. They immediately pushed him into a hole by the roadside, and the driver took out his whip to punish the youth for his terrible insult.