The Bright Sun Brings It to Light (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The tailors crime and the Jews dying prophecy
A poor tailor's apprentice wandered the world seeking work but found none, leaving him destitute without even a farthing to survive. During his desperate travels, he encountered a Jewish man on the road. Believing the stranger carried substantial money, the apprentice made a fateful decision.
the tailor thrust God out of his heart, fell on the Jew, and said, "Give me thy money, or I will strike thee dead."
The victim pleaded for his life, claiming he possessed only eight farthings. The apprentice refused to believe him and beat the man violently until he was near death.
And when the Jew was dying, the last words he said were, "The bright sun will bring it to light," and thereupon he died.
The apprentice searched the corpse but found exactly what the man had claimed - only eight farthings.
Marriage, family, and years of prosperity
He carried the body behind a clump of trees and continued his journey. After traveling extensively, he finally found employment in a town with a master craftsman who had a beautiful daughter. The apprentice fell in love with her, and they married, living happily together.
Years passed peacefully. The couple had two children and eventually inherited the household when the wife's parents died. The former apprentice had successfully built a new life, seemingly leaving his dark past behind. He worked diligently at his craft while his family flourished, and no one suspected the terrible secret he carried.
The tailor had established himself as a respectable member of the community, with a thriving business and loving family. His prosperity seemed secure, and his crime appeared to be safely buried in the past. However, fate would soon intervene to fulfill the dying man's prophetic words.
The suns reflection reveals the truth
One morning, the tailor sat at the table by the window while his wife brought him coffee. As he poured the coffee into his saucer, preparing to drink, the morning sun shone upon the liquid. The reflection danced and gleamed across the wall above, creating moving circles of light.
Then the tailor looked up and said, "Yes, it would like very much to bring it to light, and cannot!"
His wife was puzzled by these strange words and pressed him to explain their meaning. Initially, he refused to tell her, but she persisted with loving words and promises of secrecy. She assured him that no one would ever know and gave him no rest until he relented.
Finally, the burden of his secret became too heavy to bear alone. He confessed the entire story - how years ago, when he was desperate and penniless, he had killed a Jewish man for money. He told her about the victim's dying words about the bright sun bringing the truth to light, and how the sun's reflection had just reminded him of that prophecy, though it could not yet fulfill it.
The husband made his wife promise never to reveal this terrible secret, warning that his life would be forfeit if she did. She solemnly swore to keep silent. However, after he returned to his work, she could not contain herself. She went to her closest friend and shared the story, making her promise never to repeat it to another soul.
she went to her great friend and confided the story to her, but she was never to repeat it to any human being, but before two days were over, the whole town knew it
The authorities arrested the tailor, brought him to trial, and condemned him for his crime. The Jewish man's dying prophecy had finally come to pass.
And thus, after all, the bright sun did bring it to light.