The Four Skilful Brothers (Grimm)
Short summary
A poor man sent his four sons into the world to learn trades. They agreed to meet again at a crossroads in four years. The eldest became a skilled thief, the second an astronomer with a special telescope, the third a huntsman with a never-failing gun, and the youngest a tailor with a magical needle that could sew anything together seamlessly.
When they reunited, their father tested their abilities using a bird's nest in a tree. The astronomer spotted five eggs, the thief stole them without disturbing the bird, the huntsman shot all five eggs in half with one shot, and the tailor sewed them back together so perfectly that the chicks hatched with only a red line around their necks.
When the king's daughter was kidnapped by a dragon, the brothers saw an opportunity to prove themselves. The astronomer located her on a distant rock, the thief stole her from the sleeping dragon, and when the dragon pursued them, the huntsman shot it dead. However, the falling dragon destroyed their ship, but the tailor sewed the planks together, saving them all. Each brother claimed the princess should be his bride. The king resolved the dispute with a wise decision.
Each of you has an equal right, and as all of you cannot have the maiden, none of you shall have her, but I will give to each of you, as a reward, half a kingdom.
The brothers accepted this solution, preferring peace among themselves to conflict. They each received half a kingdom and lived happily with their father.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The departure and learning of trades
A poor man with four sons found himself unable to provide for his children when they reached adulthood. He told them they must venture into the world to learn trades and make their own way.
My dear children, you must now go out into the world, for I have nothing to give you, so set out, and go to some distance and learn a trade, and see how you can make your way.
The four brothers took their walking sticks and departed together through the town gate. After traveling for some time, they reached a crossroads that branched in four directions. The eldest brother declared they must separate but agreed to meet again at the same spot in four years.
Here we must separate, but on this day four years, we will meet each other again at this spot, and in the meantime we will seek our fortunes.
Each brother went his separate way. The eldest met a man who offered to teach him thievery. Though initially reluctant due to the disreputable nature of the profession, he was persuaded and became an accomplished thief capable of stealing anything undetected.
The second brother became an astronomer, learning to see everything on earth and in heaven through a special telescope given to him by his master. The third brother trained as a huntsman and received a gun that never missed its target. The youngest brother learned tailoring from a master who gave him a magical needle that could sew anything together seamlessly, whether soft as an egg or hard as steel.
The test of skills
After four years, the brothers reunited at the crossroads and returned home to their father. He decided to test their abilities by pointing to a chaffinch's nest high in a tree. The astronomer used his telescope to count five eggs in the nest. The thief climbed up and stole the eggs without disturbing the sitting bird. The huntsman then shot all five eggs in half with a single shot. Finally, the tailor sewed the eggs back together, including the young birds inside, so skillfully that they were unharmed. The thief returned them to the nest, and when the birds hatched days later, they bore red lines around their necks where they had been sewn.
The rescue mission begins
The father praised his sons' accomplishments, saying he couldn't determine which deserved the most praise. Soon after, news spread that a dragon had kidnapped the king's daughter. The king proclaimed that whoever rescued her would have her hand in marriage. The four brothers saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and resolved to work together to liberate the princess.
The astronomer looked through his telescope and located the princess on a distant rock in the sea, with the dragon watching over her. They obtained a ship from the king and sailed to the rock, where they found the princess sitting with the dragon asleep on her lap.
The rescue and return
The huntsman dared not shoot for fear of killing the princess. The thief crept forward and stole her away from under the sleeping dragon so quietly that the monster never noticed. They hurried aboard their ship with the rescued princess, but when the dragon awoke and discovered her absence, he flew after them in a rage. As the dragon circled above their vessel preparing to attack, the huntsman shot him through the heart. The massive creature fell dead, but his enormous size and weight shattered their ship upon impact.
The survivors clung to floating planks in the wide sea, facing great peril once again. The tailor took out his wondrous needle and quickly sewed the planks together, then collected and skillfully joined all the ship's fragments until the vessel was seaworthy again, allowing them to return home safely.
The resolution
When the king saw his daughter again, there were great celebrations. However, a dispute arose among the brothers over who deserved to marry the princess. Each claimed his contribution was most essential: the astronomer for locating her, the thief for rescuing her, the huntsman for killing the dragon, and the tailor for saving them all from drowning. Unable to choose between them, the king declared that since all had equal claim but only one could marry the princess, none would have her. Instead, he rewarded each brother with half a kingdom.
It is better thus than that we should be at variance with each other...they lived with their father in the greatest happiness as long as it pleased God.