The Willow-Wren and the Bear (Grimm)

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The Willow-Wren and the Bear
ger. Der Zaunkönig und der Bär · 1812
Summary of a Fairy Tale
The original takes ~5 min to read
Microsummary
An impulsive bear insulted young birds. Their king declared war on beasts. A spy learned the general's tail was the signal. A hornet's sting forced a retreat. The birds won; the bear begged pardon.

Division into chapters is editorial.

The bear discovers the King of birds

During summertime, a bear and wolf walked through the forest when they heard beautiful singing. The bear asked his companion about the identity of the melodious bird. The wolf explained that it was the King of birds, before whom they must bow down, though in reality it was merely a willow-wren.

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The Bear — large forest animal, curious about birds, impulsive and rude, insults the young wrens calling them disreputable, later forced to apologize.
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The Wolf — forest animal, companion of the bear, more cautious and knowledgeable about proper behavior, tries to restrain the bear's impulsiveness.

Intrigued, the bear expressed his desire to see the royal palace, but the wolf cautioned that they must wait for the Queen to arrive.

The bear insults the young wrens

Soon the Queen arrived with food in her beak, followed by the King, and they began feeding their young ones. The wolf held back the impatient bear until the royal couple departed. They observed the nest's location and left, but the bear could not rest until he had seen the palace. When he returned alone, the King and Queen had flown out, so he peered inside and saw five or six young birds.

Is that the royal palace? ...it is a wretched palace, and you are not King's children, you are disreputable children!

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The Young Wrens — five or six baby birds, easily offended by insults, demand apology before eating, refuse food until their honor is restored.

No, that we are not! Our parents are honest people! Bear, thou wilt have to pay for that!

War is declared between birds and beasts

The young wrens became frightfully angry and screamed their protest. When their parents returned with food, the insulted children refused to eat until their respectability was settled. They told their parents about the bear's insult.

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The Willow-Wren King — small bird, beautiful singer, father of young wrens, protective of his children, leads the flying army in war against four-footed animals.

The old King promised punishment and flew with the Queen to the bear's cave. He declared war on the bear, summoning all four-footed animals to participate. The willow-wren summoned everything that flew in the air, including birds large and small, midges, hornets, bees and flies.

The great battle and the birds victory

When war was about to begin, the willow-wren sent out spies to discover the enemy's commander-in-chief. The most crafty gnat flew into the forest where the enemy assembled and hid beneath a leaf where the watchword would be given.

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The Gnat — tiny insect, most crafty spy, discovers the enemy's battle plans by hiding under a leaf, reports back to the willow-wren.

The bear called the fox before him and appointed him general to lead the army. When asked about signals, the fox explained that his fine long bushy tail would serve as a signal - when lifted high, all was going well and they should charge, but if lowered, they should retreat.

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The Fox — cunning forest animal, appointed general of the four-footed army, has a long bushy red tail used as signal, defeated by hornet's stings.

The gnat heard everything and revealed the battle plans to the willow-wren with greatest detail. When day broke, all four-footed animals came running with such noise that the earth trembled. The willow-wren's army flew through the air with humming, whirring, and swarming that made everyone uneasy and afraid.

The willow-wren sent down the hornet with orders to get beneath the fox's tail and sting with all his might. At the first sting, the fox started and drew up one leg in pain but kept his tail high. At the second sting, he was forced to lower it momentarily.

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The Hornet — stinging insect, follows orders to attack the fox's tail, causes the fox to lower his signal tail, leading to victory for the birds.

At the third sting, the fox could hold out no longer and screamed, putting his tail between his legs. When the animals saw this signal of defeat, they thought all was lost and began to flee to their holes. The birds had won the battle.

The King and Queen flew home to their children and announced victory, telling them to eat and drink to their heart's content.

The bear apologizes to the young wrens

However, the young wrens still refused to eat, demanding that the bear come to their nest and beg for pardon, acknowledging them as honorable children. The willow-wren flew to the bear's hole and commanded him to apologize or face having every rib broken.

So the bear crept thither in the greatest fear, and begged their pardon. And now at last the young wrens were satisfied