The Dog and the Sparrow (Grimm)
Short summary
A hungry sheepdog fled his cruel master and met a sparrow on the road.
The sparrow led him to town and helped him steal meat from a butcher and bread from a baker. After eating, the tired dog slept on the road. A wagoner with three horses and wine barrels approached. The sparrow warned him not to harm the sleeping dog.
The wagoner, however, growled to himself, 'Thou wilt not make me poor,' and cracked his whip and drove the cart over the dog, and the wheels killed him.
The sparrow vowed revenge. He pecked holes in the wine barrels, draining them. He pecked out the horses' eyes, causing the wagoner to kill them himself with misaimed axe blows. At home, birds devoured all his grain. The sparrow destroyed his furniture and house. Finally, the wagoner swallowed the sparrow whole, but the bird called for death from inside him. His wife tried to kill the bird with an axe but struck her husband's head instead, killing him. The sparrow escaped.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The hungry dog meets a helpful sparrow
A sheepdog suffered under the cruelty of his master, who let him go hungry day after day. Unable to endure this treatment any longer, the dog left his home and wandered sadly along the road.
On his journey, he encountered a sparrow who noticed his distress and asked why he looked so sad. The dog explained his desperate situation - he was starving and had nothing to eat.
The sparrow feeds the dog meat and bread
Then said the sparrow, 'Dear brother, come into the town with me, and I will satisfy thy hunger.' So they went into the town together
At a butcher's shop, the sparrow cleverly pecked and pulled at a piece of meat until it fell down for the dog to seize and devour. When the dog finished the first piece, the sparrow led him to another shop and procured a second helping. After the dog had eaten his fill of meat, he mentioned that he still needed bread. The compassionate sparrow then took him to a baker's shop, where he pecked at small buns until they rolled down. When the dog wanted more, the sparrow led him to yet another stall and obtained additional bread for his new friend.
The wagoner kills the sleeping dog
Once satisfied, both animals walked outside the town. The warm weather made the dog tired, and he expressed his desire to sleep. The sparrow agreed and perched on a nearby branch while the dog lay down on the road and fell into a deep slumber. Soon, a wagoner approached driving a cart pulled by three horses and loaded with two wine barrels.
The sparrow, however, saw that he was not going to turn aside... so it cried, 'Wagoner, don't do it, or I will make thee poor.'
The wagoner dismissed the sparrow's warning with contempt, growling that the bird could not make him poor. He cracked his whip and drove his cart directly over the sleeping dog, crushing him to death beneath the wheels.
Then the sparrow cried, 'Thou hast run over my brother dog and killed him, it shall cost thee thy cart and horses.'
The sparrows revenge begins with wine and first horse
The wagoner scoffed at the sparrow's threat, asking what harm such a small creature could possibly do to him. Undeterred, the sparrow crept under the cart's cover and began pecking persistently at a bunghole until he managed to remove the cork. All the wine from the first barrel ran out without the driver noticing initially. When the wagoner finally looked back and discovered that one barrel was empty, he cried out in dismay at his misfortune. The sparrow coldly replied that he was not unfortunate enough yet. The bird then flew to the head of one of the horses and pecked out its eyes. When the driver saw this, he drew his axe and tried to strike the sparrow, but the bird flew into the air, and the blow struck his horse instead, killing it instantly.
'Oh, what an unfortunate man I am,' cried he. 'Not unfortunate enough yet,' said the sparrow
Destruction of the second wine barrel and remaining horses
As the wagoner continued his journey with his remaining two horses, the relentless sparrow crept under the cover again and pecked out the cork from the second wine barrel, spilling all its contents. When the driver discovered this new loss, he again lamented his misfortune, but the sparrow repeated that he was not unfortunate enough yet. The bird then perched on the second horse's head and pecked out its eyes as well. The driver rushed forward with his axe raised to strike, but the sparrow flew away, and the blow killed the second horse. The pattern repeated with the third horse - the sparrow blinded it, the wagoner struck wildly in his rage without looking, and killed his final horse. Each time the man cried out about his misfortune, the sparrow coldly responded that his suffering was insufficient. Finally, the sparrow declared that he would now make the wagoner unfortunate in his own home and flew away, leaving the man with his ruined cart and dead horses.
Final confrontation and the wagoners death
The wagoner returned home to find thousands of birds had devoured all his grain in the loft, with the sparrow sitting among them. In his fury, the wagoner tried repeatedly to kill the sparrow with his axe, destroying his furniture and even the walls of his house, but could not catch the elusive bird. Finally, he managed to grab the sparrow with his hands. When his wife offered to kill it, he refused, saying death would be too merciful, and swallowed the bird whole. However, the sparrow fluttered inside his body and emerged from his mouth, still threatening the wagoner's life.
The woman struck, but missed her blow, and hit the wagoner right on his head, so that he fell dead. But the sparrow flew up and away.