The Wilful Child (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The willful childs disobedience and death
In this dark moral tale from the Brothers Grimm, a young girl's persistent disobedience led to divine punishment and ultimately her death. The story began with a child whose stubborn nature made her refuse to follow her mother's wishes, no matter what guidance or instruction she received.
The child's willful behavior had serious consequences beyond mere family discord. According to the tale, her persistent disobedience displeased God himself, who decided to punish her defiance. The divine retribution came in the form of a mysterious illness that struck the child down.
Once upon a time there was a child who was willful, and would not do at her mother wished. For this reason God had no pleasure in her, and let her become ill
The illness proved to be beyond any earthly cure. Despite the efforts of medical professionals, no doctor could provide any relief or healing for the afflicted child. Her condition continued to deteriorate rapidly, and it became clear that her fate was sealed. The supernatural nature of her punishment meant that human intervention was powerless against the divine judgment that had befallen her.
Within a short period of time, the child's illness reached its inevitable conclusion. She grew weaker and weaker until she finally lay on her deathbed, her life ebbing away as a direct result of her persistent willfulness and the divine displeasure it had provoked. Death came as the ultimate consequence of her refusal to obey.
The restless arm and mothers final act
Even death could not end the child's defiant nature. After the funeral proceedings were completed and the child had been properly buried, a supernatural and disturbing event occurred that demonstrated her willfulness persisted beyond the grave. The burial should have marked the end of the tragic story, but instead it revealed that the child's rebellious spirit remained unbroken.
When she had been lowered into her grave, and the earth was spread over her, all at once her arm came out again, and stretched upwards
The mourners and gravediggers were horrified by this unnatural occurrence. They attempted to resolve the situation by pushing the arm back down into the grave and covering it with fresh earth, hoping this would finally put the child to rest. However, their efforts proved futile, as the supernatural manifestation of the child's defiance could not be so easily suppressed.
when they had put it in and spread fresh earth over it, it was all to no purpose, for the arm always came out again
No matter how many times they tried to bury the arm properly, it continued to emerge from the grave, stretching upward in a gesture of eternal defiance. The situation became increasingly desperate as conventional burial methods failed completely. It became clear that only the child's mother could resolve this supernatural crisis.
Faced with this horrifying situation, the mother was compelled to take drastic action. She had to personally visit her daughter's grave and confront the supernatural manifestation of the child's continued disobedience. The solution required the mother to assert her parental authority even over her deceased child.
Then the mother herself was obliged to go to the grave, and strike the arm with a rod, and when she had done that, it was drawn in
The mother's decisive action finally brought an end to the supernatural disturbance. By striking the defiant arm with a rod, she exercised the parental discipline that should have been heeded in life. This act of posthumous correction proved effective where all other attempts had failed. The arm was finally drawn back into the grave, never to emerge again.
strike the arm with a rod, and when she had done that, it was drawn in, and then at last the child had rest beneath the ground