The Little Folks' Presents (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The encounter with the little folks and their strange gift
A tailor and a goldsmith were traveling together when they heard distant music that grew more distinct as evening fell. The strange but pleasant sound made them forget their weariness and step quickly forward. When the moon rose, they reached a hill where they discovered a crowd of little men and women holding hands and dancing in a circle with great pleasure and delight.
The little folks sang charmingly as they danced, creating the music the travelers had heard. In their midst sat an old man, taller than the rest, wearing a parti-coloured coat with an iron-grey beard hanging down over his breast. The two travelers stood in astonishment, watching the dance.
The old man signaled for them to enter, and the little folks willingly opened their circle. The goldsmith, who had a hump and possessed the typical bravery of hunchbacks, stepped in first. The tailor felt afraid initially and held back, but seeing how merrily everything was going, he gathered his courage and followed. The circle closed again, and the little folks continued singing and dancing with wild leaps. However, the old man took a large knife from his girdle and sharpened it. When sufficiently sharp, he looked around at the strangers, who became terrified.
The magical transformation and the goldsmiths greed
They were terrified, but they had not much time for reflection, for the old man seized the goldsmith and with the greatest speed, shaved the hair of his head clean off
The same thing happened to the tailor. But their fear left them when the old man clapped them both on the shoulder in a friendly manner, indicating they had behaved well by submitting willingly without struggle. He pointed to a heap of coals lying to one side and gestured for the travelers to fill their pockets with them. Both obeyed, though they did not understand what use the coals would be. They then went on their way to seek shelter for the night. When they reached the valley, the monastery clock struck twelve, the song ceased, and in a moment all had vanished, leaving the hill in solitude under the moonlight.
The two travelers found an inn and covered themselves with their coats on straw beds, forgetting in their weariness to remove the coals from their pockets. A heavy weight on their limbs awakened them earlier than usual.
They felt in the pockets, and could not believe their eyes when they saw that they were not filled with coals, but with pure gold; happily, too, the hair...was there again
They had become rich, but the goldsmith, according to his greedy disposition, had filled his pockets better and was twice as rich as the tailor.
A greedy man, even if he has much, still wishes to have more, so the goldsmith proposed...that they should wait another day, and go out again in the evening
The tailor refused, saying he had enough and was content - now he could become a master and marry his sweetheart, making him a happy man. But he stayed another day to please his companion. In the evening, the goldsmith hung bags over his shoulders to carry away great treasures and took the road to the hill. He found the little folks singing and dancing as before, and the old man again shaved him clean and signed for him to take coal. He quickly stuffed as much as would fit into his bags, returned delighted, and covered himself with his coat, anticipating waking as an enormously rich man.
The punishment for greed and the tailors kindness
When the goldsmith opened his eyes and examined his pockets, he was amazed to find nothing but black coals. Even the gold from the previous night had turned back into coal. He struck his forehead with his dusty black hand and discovered his whole head was bald and smooth, as was the place where his beard should have been. Worse still, in addition to the hump on his back, a second equally large hump had grown on his breast. He recognized this as punishment for his greediness and began to weep aloud. The good tailor, awakened by this, comforted his unhappy fellow traveler and offered to share his wealth, keeping his word though the poor goldsmith was obliged to carry two humps for the rest of his life.