The Seven Swabians (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The seven companions and their spear
Seven men from Swabia decided to travel the world together to seek adventures and perform great deeds. The group consisted of Master Schulz, Jackli, Marli, Jergli, Michal, Hans, and Veitli, all determined to make their mark through heroic exploits.
But in order that they might go in security and with arms in their hands, they thought it would be advisable that they should have one solitary, but very strong, and very long spear made for them.
All seven men held this single spear together as they traveled. Master Schulz walked at the front as their supposed leader, being considered the boldest and bravest among them, while the others followed in a line behind him.
The beetle encounter and false surrender
One day in July, during haymaking season, the seven companions had walked a long distance and still had far to go before reaching the village where they planned to spend the night. As they crossed a meadow in the twilight, a large beetle or hornet flew past them from behind a bush, humming menacingly. Master Schulz became so terrified that he nearly dropped the spear, and cold perspiration broke out over his entire body. He cried out to his comrades that he heard a drum beating.
Jackli, who was behind him holding the spear and perceived some kind of smell, declared that something was certainly happening because he could taste powder and matches. At these words, Master Schulz began to flee and quickly jumped over a hedge. However, he landed on the teeth of a rake that had been left there after haymaking, and the handle struck his face with tremendous force.
"Oh dear! Oh dear!" screamed Master Schulz. "Take me prisoner; I surrender! I surrender!" The other six all leapt over, one on the top of the other, crying, "If you surrender, I surrender too!"
When no enemy appeared to bind and capture them, they realized they had been mistaken. To prevent the story from becoming known and being ridiculed as fools, they all swore to keep silent about the incident until one of them accidentally spoke of it. Then they continued their journey.
The sleeping hare encounter
Some days later, their path led them through a fallow field where a hare sat sleeping in the sun. Her ears stood straight up, and her large glassy eyes were wide open.
All of them were alarmed at the sight of the horrible wild beast, and they consulted together as to what it would be the least dangerous to do. For if they were to run away, they knew that the monster would pursue and swallow them whole.
They decided they must engage in a great and dangerous struggle, declaring that boldly ventured was half won. All seven grasped the spear together, with Master Schulz in front and Veitli behind. Master Schulz kept trying to hold the spear back, but Veitli had become quite brave while positioned behind the others and wanted to dash forward. The companions began speaking in verse, each trying to encourage the others while avoiding taking the lead themselves. Master Schulz finally plucked up his courage and said they should advance boldly to show their valor and might.
The drowning in the Moselle
As they all advanced together against what they believed was a dragon, Master Schulz crossed himself and prayed for divine assistance. However, as he got nearer to the enemy, he screamed in the greatest anguish. This awakened the hare, which darted swiftly away in alarm. When Master Schulz saw the creature fleeing, he cried out in joy that the monster was nothing but a hare. The Swabian allies then went in search of further adventures and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep river with few bridges, where people often had to cross by boat.
Not knowing how to cross, the seven Swabians called to a man working on the opposite side to ask how people managed to get across. The distance and their way of speaking made the man unable to understand what they wanted, so he responded with "What? what?" in the dialect of the Treves region. Master Schulz thought the man was saying "Wade, wade through the water," and as he was first, he began to enter the Moselle. It was not long before he sank in the mud and deep waves, but his hat was blown to the opposite shore by the wind, where a frog sat down beside it and croaked "Wat, wat, wat." The other six heard this and said that Master Schulz was calling them, reasoning that if he could wade across, so could they.
So they all jumped into the water together in a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus one frog took the lives of all six of them, and not one of the Swabian allies ever reached home again.