A goat had seven young kids, whom
she loved very much and carefully protected from the wolf. One day, when she
had to go and fetch some food, she called them all together and said,
"Dear children, I must go out to find some food. So be on your guard
against the wolf and don't let him inside. Pay close attention because he often
disguises himself, but you can recognize him right away by his gruff voice and
black paws. Protect yourselves. If he gets into the house, he'll eat you all
up."
Upon saying this, the goat went
on her way, but it was not long before the wolf arrived at the door and called
out, "Open up, dear children. I'm your mother and have brought you some
beautiful things."
But the seven kids said:
"You're not our mother. She has a lovely, soft voice, and yours is gruff.
You're the wolf, and we're not going to open the door."
The wolf went away to a
shopkeeper and bought a big piece of chalk, which he ate, and it made his voice soft. Then he returned to the house door of the seven
kids and called out with a soft voice: "Dear children, let me in. I'm your
mother, and I've brought something for each of you."
But the wolf had put his paw on
the windowsill, and when the children saw it, they said, "You're not our
mother. She doesn't have a black paw like yours. You're the wolf. We're not
going to open the door for you!"
So the wolf ran to a baker and
said, "Baker, put some dough on my paws for me."
And after that was done, the wolf
went to the miller and said, "Sprinkle some white flour on my paws."
The miller said no.
"If you don't do it, I'll
eat you up!"
So the miller had to do it.
Now the wolf went once again to
the house door of the seven kids and said, "Dear children, let me in. I'm
your mother, and I've brought something for each of you."
The seven kids wanted to see the
paws first, and when they saw that they were snow white and heard the wolf
speak so softly, they thought he was their mother and opened the door. Once the
wolf entered, however, they recognized him and quickly hid themselves as best
they could. The first kid slid under the table, the second hid in the bed, the
third in the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the
sixth under the large washbasin, and the seventh in the clock case. However,
the wolf found them all and swallowed them, except for the youngest in the
clock case, who remained alive.
When the wolf had satisfied his
craving, he went off. Shortly thereafter, the mother goat came home, and oh,
what a terrible sight! The wolf had been there and had devoured her dear children!
She thought they were all dead, but then the youngest jumped out of the clock
case and told her how everything had happened.
In the meantime, the wolf, who
was stuffed, had gone to a green meadow, where he had lain himself down in the
sun and had fallen into a deep sleep. The old goat thought she still might be
able to save her children. Therefore, she said to the youngest kid: "Take
the scissors, needle, and thread and follow me."
After she left the house, she
found the wolf lying on the ground in the meadow and snoring.
"There's that nasty
wolf!" she said and inspected him from all sides. "There he is after
eating my six children for supper. Give me the scissors! Oh, if only they're
still alive inside him!"
Then
she cut his belly open, and the six kids that had been swallowed whole by the
gluttonous wolf jumped out and were unscathed. Immediately she ordered them to
gather large and heavy stones and to bring them to her. Then she filled his
stomach with them, and the kids sewed him up again and hid behind a hedge.
When the wolf had finished
sleeping, he felt that his stomach was very heavy and said: "It's rumbling
and tumbling in my belly! It's rumbling and tumbling in my belly! And I've only eaten six kids!"
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