The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The harmonious partnership and their work arrangement
Three unlikely companions formed a successful household partnership that brought them prosperity and contentment.
Once on a time a mouse, a bird, and a sausage became companions, kept house together, lived well and happily with each other, and wonderfully increased their possessions.
Each member of this unusual trio had specific responsibilities that suited their natural abilities. The bird worked as the wood-gatherer, flying daily into the forest to collect fuel for their home.
The mouse handled the domestic duties of carrying water from the well, lighting the fire each morning, and setting the table for their meals.
The sausage took on the cooking responsibilities, using his unique ability to season and prepare their food by rolling himself through the broth and vegetables, which perfectly buttered and salted everything.
This arrangement worked perfectly for their household. When the bird returned each evening with his burden of wood, they would sit down together for dinner, then sleep peacefully until morning. Their system allowed each to rest during parts of the day - the mouse could retreat to her room after completing her morning tasks, while the sausage simply monitored the cooking pot. This efficient division of labor created what seemed to be an ideal life for all three companions.
The birds discontent and the decision to switch roles
The bird's contentment with their arrangement was shattered when he encountered another bird during one of his wood-gathering trips.
The bird proudly shared details of his excellent living situation and boasted about their prosperity. However, the other bird criticized him, calling him a poor simpleton for doing such hard work while his companions enjoyed easier lives at home. The manipulative stranger painted a picture of inequality, suggesting that the mouse and sausage had comfortable, leisurely existences while the bird labored daily in the forest.
He who is too well off is always longing for something new. One day, therefore, the bird met with another bird, on the way, to whom it related its excellent circumstances.
Influenced by these words, the bird returned home with a completely changed attitude. He declared that he would no longer go into the wood, stating that he had been a servant long enough and had been made a fool of by his companions. Despite earnest pleas from both the mouse and the sausage, the bird insisted they must rearrange their duties and try a different system. To settle the matter, they decided to cast lots to determine the new division of labor.
The tragic consequences of changing their roles
They cast lots about it, and the lot fell on the sausage who was to carry wood, the mouse became cook, and the bird was to fetch water.
The new arrangement proved disastrous from the very first day. The little sausage set out toward the wood while the bird lit the fire and the mouse stayed by the pot, waiting for the sausage to return with wood for the next day. However, the sausage stayed away much longer than expected, causing both remaining companions to fear something terrible had happened. The bird flew out to search for his friend and soon discovered the tragic truth.
Not far from home, the bird encountered a dog on the road who had attacked the poor sausage.
Not far off, however, it met a dog on the road who had fallen on the poor sausage as lawful booty, and had seized and swallowed it.
When the bird accused the dog of robbery, the cunning animal claimed he had found forged letters on the sausage, making its life forfeit to him. The devastated bird returned home with the wood and shared the terrible news with the mouse. Though deeply troubled, they agreed to continue and do their best together. The bird laid the cloth while the mouse attempted to prepare the food, trying to dress it as the sausage used to do by getting into the pot and rolling among the vegetables. However, before she could complete this task, she was scalded to death, losing her skin, hair, and life in the boiling mixture. When the bird came to serve dinner, he found no cook and began searching frantically. In his distress and carelessness, he scattered the wood everywhere, which caught fire and started a conflagration. Rushing to fetch water to extinguish the flames, the bucket slipped from his claws into the well, and he fell down with it, unable to recover himself, and drowned.