Old Hildebrand (Grimm)
Short summary
A German village, medieval times. A parson desired a peasant's wife and conspired with her to spend a day together. The woman pretended to be ill, and the parson preached that anyone with a sick relative should make a pilgrimage to Göckerli hill in Italy for healing laurel leaves. The peasant Hildebrand believed the sermon and set off immediately with a bag and kreuzer from the parson.
On his way, Hildebrand met his gossip, an egg merchant, who revealed the parson's deception. The gossip carried Hildebrand home in his egg basket to witness the truth. They found the parson and the peasant woman celebrating with a feast and music.
The parson asked the woman to sing, and they exchanged verses about sending the husband away. The gossip sang from his hiding place, asking what Hildebrand was doing there. Finally, Hildebrand sang:
All singing I ever shall hate from this day,
And here in this basket no longer I'll stay.
Hallelujah.
He jumped out of the basket and beat the parson out of the house.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The parsons scheme and the fake illness
A village parson had long desired to spend time with a peasant's wife and devised an elaborate plan to achieve his goal. The parson approached the woman with his scheme, telling her:
Listen, my dear friend, I have now thought of a way by which we can for once spend a whole day happily together... you must take to your bed, and tell your husband you are ill
The peasant woman readily agreed to participate in the deception. The plan involved her pretending to be ill from Wednesday until Sunday, when the parson would deliver a special sermon. He would announce that anyone with a sick family member could make a pilgrimage to Göckerli hill in Italy to obtain laurel-leaves for a kreuzer, which would instantly cure the afflicted person. The woman promised to manage her part of the scheme perfectly.
The pilgrimage sermon and the peasants departure
On Wednesday, the woman took to her bed and began complaining and lamenting convincingly. Her husband, Hildebrand, did everything he could to help her, but nothing seemed to improve her condition.
By Sunday, the woman claimed to feel near death but expressed a desire to hear the parson's sermon. Hildebrand, concerned for her health, offered to attend the service himself and report everything the parson said. During the sermon, the parson delivered exactly the message he had promised, describing the miraculous healing powers of the laurel-leaves from Göckerli hill. After the service, Hildebrand eagerly approached the parson, who gave him a bag for the laurel-leaves and the kreuzer needed for the journey. Overjoyed at the prospect of curing his wife, Hildebrand rushed home to share the good news and immediately set off on his pilgrimage, leaving his wife behind.
Meeting the egg-merchant and learning the truth
As soon as Hildebrand departed, his wife got up from her bed and the parson arrived at the house. Meanwhile, Hildebrand walked quickly toward Göckerli hill, eager to obtain the cure for his wife. On his journey, he encountered his gossip, an egg-merchant returning from market. The egg-merchant asked where Hildebrand was going in such haste, and the peasant explained about his wife's illness and the parson's miraculous remedy. The egg-merchant immediately recognized the deception and revealed the truth:
Don't you know what it means? The parson wants to spend a whole day alone with your wife in peace, so he has given you this job to do to get you out of the way.
Shocked by this revelation, Hildebrand exclaimed that he wanted to know if this was true. The egg-merchant offered to help him discover the truth by hiding him in his egg-basket and carrying him back home. Hildebrand agreed to this plan, and the gossip placed him in the basket and headed toward the peasant's house.
Discovering the affair and the final confrontation
When they arrived at the house, they found a merry scene unfolding.
When they got to the house, hurrah! but all was going merry there! The woman had already had nearly everything killed that was in the farmyard, and had made pancakes
The parson had brought his fiddle and was enjoying himself with the woman. The egg-merchant knocked and asked for shelter, claiming he couldn't carry his heavy eggs home in the dark. The woman reluctantly let him in and seated him with his basket by the stove. The parson and woman continued their celebration, and eventually the parson asked the woman to sing. After some persuasion, she began to sing about sending her husband away to Italy. The parson responded with his own verse about wishing it would be a year before Hildebrand returned. Then the egg-merchant sang, asking what Hildebrand was doing on the bench by the stove. Finally, Hildebrand himself sang from within the basket, declaring his hatred for all singing and his intention to leave the basket. He burst out and cudgeled the parson out of the house.