Clever Grethel
by Brothers Grimm · from Household Tales
Adapted Version
Grethel is a cook. She loves food. She loves food very, very much. She makes the best meals. She always tastes her cooking. "Mmm!" says Grethel. "So good!"
One day, her Master says, "Grethel! Cook two chickens, please! A guest is coming!" "Yes, Master!" says Grethel.
Grethel cooks the two chickens. They turn brown and hot. The smell is so, so good. "Mmm!" says Grethel.
She waits and waits. The guest does not come. Grethel is very hungry. She looks at the chickens.
She takes one small bite. "Mmm! So good!" she says. She takes one more bite. "Just one more bite!" she says. And one more. And one more. "Just one more bite!" says Grethel.
She looks down. The first chicken is gone. "Oh no!" says Grethel. "It is all gone!"
She looks at the second chicken. It sits alone on the plate. "One chicken is sad alone," says Grethel. She eats the second chicken too. "Yum!" she says.
The door opens. Master comes in. "The guest is here!" he says. Grethel looks at the empty plates. Oh no! Oh no, oh no!
Grethel runs to the door. The guest stands there. He smiles. "Hello!" he says. Grethel puts a finger to her lips. "Shh! Run! Run away!" she says. "My Master wants all the food! He will not share!" The guest sees Master. Master holds a big knife. It is for cutting chicken. But the guest does not know that.
"Oh no!" says the guest. He turns and runs. He runs and runs and runs! He runs very, very fast.
Grethel runs to her Master. "Master! Master!" she says. "He took the chickens!" She points at the door. "He ran away!"
"What? My chickens!" says Master. He runs out the door. "Come back! Come back!" he shouts. He waves his arms. He runs after the guest.
The guest looks back. He sees Master running. He runs faster and faster! Master runs too. But the guest is too fast.
And Grethel? She sits down in her chair. She pats her full tummy. They run and run outside. But Grethel does not move. She smiles a big, big smile. Her tummy is very full.
Original Story
Clever Grethel
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm
There was once a cook named Grethel, who wore shoes with red rosettes, and when she walked out with them on, she turned herself this way and that, and thought, "You certainly are a pretty girl!" And when she came home she drank, in her gladness of heart, a draught of wine, and as wine excites a desire to eat, she tasted the best of whatever she was cooking until she was satisfied, and said, "The cook must know what the food is like."
It came to pass that the master one day said to her, "Grethel, there is a guest coming this evening; prepare me two fowls very daintily." - "I will see to it, master," answered Grethel. She killed two fowls, scalded them, plucked them, put them on the spit, and towards evening set them before the fire, that they might roast. The fowls began to turn brown, and were nearly ready, but the guest had not yet arrived. Then Grethel called out to her master, "If the guest does not come, I must take the fowls away from the fire, but it will be a sin and a shame if they are not eaten directly, when they are juiciest." The master said, "I will run myself, and fetch the guest." When the master had turned his back, Grethel laid the spit with the fowls on one side, and thought, "Standing so long by the fire there, makes one hot and thirsty; who knows when they will come? Meanwhile, I will run into the cellar, and take a drink." She ran down, set a jug, said, "God bless it to thy use, Grethel," and took a good drink, and took yet another hearty draught.
Then she went and put the fowls down again to the fire, basted them, and drove the spit merrily round. But as the roast meat smelt so good, Grethel thought, "Something might be wrong, it ought to be tasted!" She touched it with her finger, and said, "Ah! how good fowls are! It certainly is a sin and a shame that they are not eaten directly!" She ran to the window, to see if the master was not coming with his guest, but she saw no one, and went back to the fowls and thought, "One of the wings is burning! I had better take it off and eat it." So she cut it off, ate it, and enjoyed it, and when she had done, she thought, "the other must go down too, or else master will observe that something is missing." When the two wings were eaten, she went and looked for her master, and did not see him. It suddenly occurred to her, "Who knows? They are perhaps not coming at all, and have turned in somewhere." Then she said, "Hallo, Grethel, enjoy yourself, one fowl has been cut into, take another drink, and eat it up entirely; when it is eaten you will have some peace, why should God's good gifts be spoilt?" So she ran into the cellar again, took an enormous drink and ate up the one chicken in great glee. When one of the chickens was swallowed down, and still her master did not come, Grethel looked at the other and said, "Where one is, the other should be likewise, the two go together; what's right for the one is right for the other; I think if I were to take another draught it would do me no harm." So she took another hearty drink, and let the second chicken rejoin the first.
While she was just in the best of the eating, her master came and cried, hurry up, "Haste thee, Grethel, the guest is coming directly after me!" - "Yes, sir, I will soon serve up," answered Grethel. Meantime the master looked to see that the table was properly laid, and took the great knife, wherewith he was going to carve the chickens, and sharpened it on the steps. Presently the guest came, and knocked politely and courteously at the house-door. Grethel ran, and looked to see who was there, and when she saw the guest, she put her finger to her lips and said, "Hush! hush! get away as quickly as you can, if my master catches you it will be the worse for you; he certainly did ask you to supper, but his intention is to cut off your two ears. Just listen how he is sharpening the knife for it!" The guest heard the sharpening, and hurried down the steps again as fast as he could. Grethel was not idle; she ran screaming to her master, and cried, "You have invited a fine guest!" - "Eh, why, Grethel? What do you mean by that?" - "Yes," said she, "he has taken the chickens which I was just going to serve up, off the dish, and has run away with them!" - "That's a nice trick!" said her master, and lamented the fine chickens. "If he had but left me one, so that something remained for me to eat." He called to him to stop, but the guest pretended not to hear. Then he ran after him with the knife still in his hand, crying, "Just one, just one," meaning that the guest should leave him just one chicken, and not take both. The guest, however, thought no otherwise than that he was to give up one of his ears, and ran as if fire were burning under him, in order to take them both home with him.
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Story DNA
Moral
null
Plot Summary
Grethel, a vain and gluttonous cook, is tasked with preparing two fowls for her master's guest. While the master is away, she succumbs to temptation, drinks wine, and eats both fowls, rationalizing each bite. When the master and guest arrive, Grethel, to avoid punishment, tells the guest the master intends to cut off his ears, causing him to flee. She then tells her master the guest stole the fowls, leading the master to chase the terrified guest, ensuring Grethel escapes scot-free.
Themes
Emotional Arc
anticipation to frantic chaos
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects a time when food was a more precious commodity and servants might be tempted by it, but also highlights the cleverness of the lower class in outwitting their superiors.
Plot Beats (13)
- Grethel, a vain and self-satisfied cook, enjoys tasting her cooking and drinking wine.
- Her master informs her a guest is coming and instructs her to prepare two fowls.
- Grethel prepares the fowls and puts them on the spit to roast.
- As the guest is delayed, Grethel goes to the cellar for a drink, rationalizing her thirst.
- She tastes the fowls, then eats one wing, then the other, rationalizing each bite.
- She decides to eat the entire first fowl, then goes for another drink.
- She then eats the second fowl, rationalizing that they should go together.
- The master returns, announcing the guest is right behind him.
- Grethel sees the guest arrive and, to cover her tracks, tells him the master intends to cut off his ears, pointing to the sharpening knife.
- The guest, hearing the sharpening, flees in terror.
- Grethel then runs to her master, screaming that the guest stole both fowls.
- The master, enraged and lamenting the loss, chases after the guest with the knife, shouting for him to leave at least one fowl.
- The guest, misunderstanding, believes the master wants to cut off one of his ears and runs even faster.
Characters
Grethel ★ protagonist
Pretty
Attire: Simple cook's dress, red rosettes on her shoes
Clever, gluttonous, opportunistic
Image Prompt & Upload
A young girl, around twelve years old, with long, honey-blonde hair in two neat braids tied with blue ribbons. She has a determined, hopeful expression and bright blue eyes. She wears a simple, light blue linen dress with a white apron, brown leather ankle boots, and a small wicker basket held in her right hand. She stands in a gentle contrapposto pose, looking slightly off-camera as if ready for an adventure. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Master ◆ supporting
Not described
Attire: Simple tunic and trousers, working clothes
Gullible, easily angered, greedy
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly man with a long white beard and kind, wise eyes, dressed in a flowing, deep blue robe with silver embroidery at the hems. He stands tall with a gentle, knowing smile, one hand resting on a gnarled wooden staff. His posture is calm and authoritative. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Guest ○ minor
Not described
Attire: Traveling clothes, cloak
Easily frightened, polite
Image Prompt & Upload
A young child around eight to ten years old, with a curious and slightly shy expression. They have short, tousled brown hair and wide, attentive eyes. Dressed in simple, comfortable clothing: a soft blue t-shirt, beige shorts, and well-worn sneakers. The child stands with a slight lean forward, hands clasped together in front, posture open and observant. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Kitchen with Fireplace
A warm kitchen with a fireplace where fowls are roasting on a spit.
Mood: Cozy, tempting, later chaotic
Grethel eats the roasted fowls.
Image Prompt & Upload
Golden hour light streams through a small window, illuminating a rustic stone kitchen. A massive, roaring fireplace dominates one wall, its iron spit turning slowly, holding two plump, glistening fowls. The warm glow casts dancing shadows on copper pots hanging from a wooden beam and reveals bundles of dried herbs and garlic braids suspended from the ceiling. A rough-hewn wooden table sits nearby, dusted with flour, beside a stack of earthenware bowls. The air is thick with the scent of roasting meat and woodsmoke, the atmosphere deeply cozy and inviting. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
Cellar
A cool cellar where wine is stored in jugs.
Mood: Cool, secretive, drunken
Grethel repeatedly goes to the cellar to drink wine.
Image Prompt & Upload
Dimly lit ancient stone cellar, cool and humid atmosphere. Rough-hewn stone walls and low arched ceiling, damp patches visible. Rows of large wooden barrels and clay wine jugs stacked on stone shelves. Warm amber light from a few scattered lanterns casts long shadows across the packed earth floor. Muted earth tones of grey stone, brown wood, and terracotta clay. A sense of quiet, preserved time. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
Steps of the House
The steps leading up to the house door.
Mood: Deceptive, dangerous
The master sharpens his knife, scaring the guest away.
Image Prompt & Upload
Ancient stone steps, worn smooth by time, ascend toward a weathered wooden door set into a hillside. Dawn light filters through towering, gnarled oak trees, casting long, soft shadows and illuminating patches of emerald moss clinging to the stone edges. A delicate mist curls around the base of the steps, and a single, intricate iron lantern hangs beside the door, its glass panes reflecting a warm, amber glow. Wildflowers in pale blues and purples push through cracks in the stonework, and a faint, silvery cobweb shimmers with dew between the railing and a stone post. The atmosphere is quiet, magical, and slightly mysterious. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
