The Wise Servant (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The wise servants mission
A master once owned a servant who possessed an unusual kind of wisdom - one that led him to follow his own judgment rather than his master's orders. This tale began when the master discovered that one of his cows had gone missing and needed to be found. He decided to send his trusted servant on this important mission, confident that the young man would handle the task with his usual dedication.
The master sent John out to search for the lost cow, expecting him to return promptly with news of its whereabouts.
However, as time passed and John failed to return, the master grew increasingly concerned. Hours turned into a long stretch of waiting, and still there was no sign of his servant. Initially, the master felt pleased, thinking to himself that his faithful worker was being thorough in his search.
Faithful John does not spare any pains over his work! As, however, he did not come back at all, the master was afraid lest some misfortune had befallen him, and set out himself to look for him.
The master's worry eventually overcame his patience, and he decided he could wait no longer. Fearing that some accident or misfortune might have befallen his servant, he set out personally to search for John. The master spent considerable time looking through the countryside, checking various locations where John might have gone in pursuit of the missing cow. Finally, after much searching, he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
The encounter and the lesson
The master discovered John running back and forth across a large field, apparently engaged in some activity completely unrelated to finding the lost cow. When the master finally reached his servant, he was both relieved to find him safe and puzzled by his strange behavior. The master approached John with a mixture of concern and curiosity about what had kept him away for so long.
The master questioned John about his mission, asking whether he had successfully located the missing cow. The conversation that followed revealed the true nature of John's unconventional wisdom and his approach to following orders.
Now, dear John, said the master when he had got up to him, hast thou found the cow which I sent thee to seek? No, master, he answered, I have not found the cow, but then I have not looked for it.
John's honest admission that he had not even attempted to search for the cow naturally led to the master's next question about what exactly had occupied his time instead. John's response revealed his peculiar logic and priorities.
Then what hast thou looked for, John? Something better, and that luckily I have found. What is that, John? Three blackbirds, answered the boy.
When pressed to explain where these three blackbirds were, John provided an answer that perfectly demonstrated his whimsical and impractical approach to life. His response showed how he had spent his time chasing after something intangible rather than completing his assigned task.
I see one of them, I hear the other, and I am running after the third, answered the wise boy.
The tale concluded with a moral lesson that turned conventional wisdom on its head. Rather than condemning John's disobedience and failure to complete his assigned task, the story presented his behavior as an example to follow. The narrator suggested that readers should emulate John's approach of ignoring their masters' orders in favor of pursuing whatever captured their fancy. This ironic moral challenged traditional notions of duty, obedience, and responsibility, presenting instead a philosophy of following one's own whims and desires as the path to wisdom. The story thus served as a satirical commentary on the nature of wisdom and the value of unconventional thinking, even when it came at the expense of practical responsibilities and social expectations.