Selected Tales by Brothers Grimm

Author:Brothers Grimm [Grimm, Brothers]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241245057
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 1982-07-01T23:00:00+00:00

30

One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes

There was once a woman who had three daughters, of whom the eldest was called ‘One-Eye’ because she had only a single eye in the middle of her forehead, and the second ‘Two-Eyes’, because she had two eyes like other people, and the youngest ‘Three-Eyes’, because she had three eyes, with one of them also in the middle of her forehead. But because Two-Eyes didn’t look different from other folk, her sisters and her mother hated her. They said to her: ‘You with your two eyes are no better than the common people, you aren’t one of us.’ They pushed her about and threw her dirty rags to wear, and gave her nothing to eat but their leavings, and tormented her in every way they could think of.

It happened that Two-Eyes had to go out into the field and mind the goat, but was still very hungry because her sisters had given her so little to eat. And she sat down at the edge of a field and began to cry, and cried so hard that the tears ran from her eyes like two little streams. And looking up as she wept, she suddenly saw a woman standing beside her who asked: ‘Two-Eyes, why are you crying?’ Two-Eyes answered: ‘How can I help crying! Because I have two eyes like other people, my sisters and my mother hate me, they drive me from corner to corner, throw me old clothes to wear and give me nothing to eat but their leavings. Today they’ve given me so little that I’m still ever so hungry.’ The wise-woman said: ‘Two-Eyes, dry your tears and listen to what I tell you, and you need never be hungry again. Just say to your goat:

“Little goat, bleat,

Lay me a table

With lots to eat,”

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