The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Grimm)
Short summary
A medieval German forest. Three impoverished brothers set out to seek their fortune. The eldest found a silver mountain and took what he could carry home. The second discovered a gold mountain and did likewise. The third brother rejected these riches and journeyed on.
He discovered a magical tablecloth that produced food on command. Meeting charcoal-burners in the forest, he traded the cloth for three magical items but used soldiers from a magical knapsack to retrieve it each time. He acquired a hat that fired cannons and a horn that destroyed fortifications. Returning home wealthy in magic but poor in appearance, his brothers mocked him. Using his magical army, he forced the king to give him his daughter in marriage. The princess stole his knapsack and hat through trickery. In rage, he blew the horn.
Instantly all walls, fortifications, towns, and villages, toppled down, and crushed the King and his daughter to death... everything would have been in ruins.
He became king of the entire country.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The three brothers choose different paths to fortune
Three brothers fell into deep poverty and faced starvation. Realizing they could not continue living in such conditions, they decided to venture into the world to seek their fortune. They set out together and traveled many long roads, walking over countless blades of grass, but had not yet encountered good luck. One day, they arrived in a great forest where they discovered a hill made entirely of silver.
The eldest brother declared he had found the good luck he wished for and desired nothing more. He took as much silver as he could carry and returned home. The two remaining brothers wanted something more from fortune than mere silver and continued their journey. After walking for two more days, they came to a hill made entirely of gold. The second brother hesitated, wondering whether to take enough gold for the rest of his life or continue further. Eventually, he decided to fill his pockets with gold and went home.
Silver and gold do not move me, I will not renounce my chance of fortune, perhaps something better still will be given me.
The discovery of the magic tablecloth
The third brother journeyed onwards alone for three days until he entered an even larger forest that seemed endless. Finding nothing to eat or drink, he became exhausted and climbed a high tree to see if he could spot the forest's end, but saw only treetops stretching to the horizon. When he descended, tormented by hunger, he discovered a table beneath the tree richly spread with food.
Without questioning who had brought the food, he ate until his hunger was satisfied. Thinking it would be a pity to let the pretty tablecloth spoil in the forest, he folded it and put it in his pocket. That evening, when hunger returned, he spread out the cloth and wished for it to be covered with good food again. Instantly, numerous dishes appeared on the table.
Now I perceive... in what kitchen my cooking is done. Thou shalt be dearer to me than the mountains of silver and gold.
Trading with charcoal-burners: acquiring magical weapons
Despite possessing the wishing-cloth, the young man preferred to continue wandering and pursuing his fortune. One night in a lonely wood, he met a dusty, black charcoal-burner who was preparing to eat potatoes by his fire.
The youth offered to share his meal using the magical cloth, which amazed the charcoal-burner. In exchange for the tablecloth, the charcoal-burner offered an old soldier's knapsack with wonderful powers: when tapped, a corporal with six armed men would appear and obey any command. The youth agreed to the trade but immediately used the knapsack's power to retrieve his tablecloth. He encountered two more charcoal-burners on subsequent nights, trading his cloth for a magical hat that fired cannons when turned on one's head, and then for a horn that could destroy walls and fortifications when blown. Each time, he used his soldiers to reclaim the tablecloth.
Now... I am a made man, and it is time for me to go home and see how my brothers are getting on.
Homecoming and rejection by his brothers
When the third brother returned home, his brothers had built a handsome house with their silver and gold and were living comfortably. However, they refused to acknowledge him as their brother because of his ragged appearance. They mocked him, saying their true brother would arrive like a mighty king, not as a beggar, and drove him away. Enraged, the young man tapped his knapsack, summoning one hundred and fifty armed men who surrounded his brothers' house and beat them with hazel sticks until they recognized who he was.
The disturbance attracted attention, and when the King sent troops to restore order, the young man's magical army easily defeated them. Even larger royal forces could not overcome his soldiers and cannons.
Forcing the king into marriage and political power
I will not make peace until the King gives me his daughter to wife, and I govern the whole kingdom in his name.
Faced with this ultimatum, the King reluctantly agreed to give his daughter in marriage to maintain peace and keep his crown. The wedding was celebrated, though the princess was vexed at having to marry a common man with shabby appearance.
The princesss betrayals and the heros final triumph
The princess plotted to rid herself of her husband. She caressed him until he revealed that his power lay in the knapsack, then stole it while pretending to kiss him. She commanded the warriors to seize their former master and drive him from the palace. However, he still possessed the magical hat and used it to summon cannons that forced even the princess to beg for mercy. After granting her peace, she again deceived him, learning about the hat's power and stealing it while he slept. With only the horn remaining, the young man blew it with all his strength in great anger. All walls, fortifications, towns, and villages collapsed, crushing both the King and his daughter to death. With no one left to oppose him, he made himself King of the whole country.