Knoist and His Three Sons (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
Knoist and his sons impossible adventures
In a peculiar tale of impossibilities, there lived a man named Knoist in the region between Werrel and Soist, who had three sons with remarkable disabilities that paradoxically enabled extraordinary feats.
Between Werrel and Soist there lived a man whose name was Knoist, and he had three sons. One was blind, the other lame, and the third stark-naked.
The first son was blind, yet possessed an uncanny ability to see what others could not.
The second son was lame, yet could catch what others could not reach.
The third son was completely naked, yet somehow possessed pockets for carrying things.
One day, the three brothers ventured into a field where they encountered a hare. In a display of their impossible abilities, the blind son shot the hare despite his lack of sight, the lame son caught it despite his inability to walk properly, and the naked son placed it in his pocket despite having no clothes.
Once on a time they went into a field, and there they saw a hare. The blind one shot it, the lame one caught it, the naked one put it in his pocket.
Their adventures continued as they came upon a mighty big lake where three boats awaited them. The first boat sailed normally, the second boat sank immediately, and the third boat had no bottom whatsoever. Defying all logic, the three brothers chose to board the boat with no bottom, somehow managing to travel across the water in this impossible vessel.
Then they came to a mighty big lake, on which there were three boats, one sailed, one sank, the third had no bottom to it. They all three got into the one with no bottom to it.
After crossing the lake, the brothers arrived at a mighty big forest dominated by an enormous tree. This was no ordinary tree, for within its trunk stood a mighty big chapel, creating an impossible architectural wonder that defied the laws of nature and construction. The chapel served as a place of worship nestled impossibly within the living wood of the great tree.
Inside this remarkable chapel, the brothers discovered two extraordinary figures who served the religious needs of this unusual sanctuary. These were not ordinary clergy members, but rather wooden beings crafted from different types of wood, each serving their specific ecclesiastical function in this mystical place of worship.
The first figure was a sexton made entirely of beechwood, who performed the traditional duties of a church caretaker.
The second figure was a parson crafted from boxwood, who had the peculiar and rather violent method of distributing holy water using cudgels instead of the traditional gentle sprinkling.
This unusual method of administering holy water with cudgels created a rather threatening atmosphere in the chapel, where the traditional blessing became something to be feared rather than welcomed. The wooden parson's aggressive approach to his sacred duties transformed the holy ritual into something that people would naturally want to avoid rather than seek out for spiritual comfort.
The chapel and the moral lesson
The tale concluded with a moral observation about this strange chapel and its wooden clergy. The story offered a piece of wisdom about the nature of happiness and the relationship between people and religious authority, particularly when that authority became threatening or violent rather than comforting and nurturing.
The final message of the story was delivered in verse form, providing a clear moral lesson about the wisdom of avoiding dangerous religious practices. This wisdom suggested that true happiness came to those who had the sense to flee from holy water administered through violence, recognizing that genuine spiritual blessing should never come through fear or harm.
How truly happy is that one
Who can from holy water run!