Gambling Hansel

Author: Brothers Grimm

Age8–12
Reading time9 min
LevelIntermediate

Introduction

'Gambling Hansel' is the 82nd tale in Grimm (in Low German, 'De Spielhansl'). Folklorists class it as type ATU 330 — the great 'Smith Outwits the Devil' family of comic legends about 'a sly little nobody outwitting Death and Hell.' It is a close brother to 'Brother Lustig' and 'The Tailor in Heaven,' which we've read: all tell of an idle but endearingly clever fellow who gives shelter to God and St. Peter travelling in disguise, wins a reward, and then, by one mishap after another, turns the afterworld upside down. Its most famous scene is the magic tree that 'no one who climbs up can climb down' — Hansel coaxes Death up it to pick fruit and keeps him trapped for seven whole years, so that for a time no one on earth can die. 'Tricking Death or the Devil up a tree and keeping him stuck' is a very widespread motif. Here's a striking fact worth mentioning: scholars, borrowing the methods biologists use to trace family trees of genes, have reconstructed the 'ancestry' of ATU 330 tales like 'The Smith and the Devil' and estimate that its earliest form may be astonishingly old — reaching back thousands of years, perhaps to the Bronze Age, making it one of the oldest stories known to humankind. And this tale's ending is a classic 'origin legend': Hansel is thrown out of Heaven, his soul shattered to fragments that 'went into the gamblers alive this very day' — so it turns out to be an old joke explaining 'where the world's gamblers came from.'

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Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble, and for that reason people never called him anything but Gambling Hansel, and as he never ceased to gamble, he played away his house and all that he had.

Now the very day before his creditors were to take his house from him, came the Lord and St. Peter, and asked him to give them shelter for the night. Then Gambling Hansel said, "For my part, you may stay the night, but I cannot give you a bed or anything to eat."

So the Lord said he was just to take them in, and they themselves would buy something to eat, to which Gambling Hansel made no objection. Thereupon St. Peter gave him three groschen, and said he was to go to the baker's and fetch some bread.

So Gambling Hansel went, but when he reached the house where the other gambling vagabonds were gathered together, they, although they had won all that he had, greeted him clamorously, and said, "Hansel, do come in." - "Oh," said he, "do you want to win the three groschen too?"

On this they would not let him go. So he went in, and played away the three groschen also. Meanwhile St. Peter and the Lord were waiting, and as he was so long in coming, they set out to meet him.

When Gambling Hansel came, however, he pretended that the money had fallen into the gutter, and kept raking about in it all the while to find it, but our Lord already knew that he had lost it in play. St. Peter again gave him three groschen, and now he did not allow himself to be led away once more, but fetched them the loaf.

Our Lord then inquired if he had no wine, and he said, "Alack, sir, the casks are all empty!" But the Lord said he was to go down into the cellar, for the best wine was still there. For a long time he would not believe this, but at length he said, "Well, I will go down, but I know that there is none there."

When he turned the tap, however, lo and behold, the best of wine ran out! So he took it to them, and the two passed the night there.

Early next day our Lord told Gambling Hansel that he might beg three favours. The Lord expected that he would ask to go to Heaven; but Gambling Hansel asked for a pack of cards with which he could win everything, for dice with which he would win everything, and for a tree whereon every kind of fruit would grow, and from which no one who had climbed up, could descend until he bade him do so. The Lord gave him all that he had asked, and departed with St. Peter.

And now Gambling Hansel at once set about gambling in real earnest, and before long he had gained half the world. Upon this St. Peter said to the Lord, "Lord, this thing must not go on, he will win, and thou lose, the whole world. We must send Death to him."

When Death appeared, Gambling Hansel had just seated himself at the gaming-table, and Death said, "Hansel, come out a while." But Gambling Hansel said, "Just wait a little until the game is done, and in the meantime get up into that tree out there, and gather a little fruit that we may have something to munch on our way."

Thereupon Death climbed up, but when he wanted to come down again, he could not, and Gambling Hansel left him up there for seven years, during which time no one died.

So St. Peter said to the Lord, "Lord, this thing must not go on. People no longer die; we must go ourselves." And they went themselves, and the Lord commanded Hansel to let Death come down. So Hansel went at once to Death and said to him, "Come down," and Death took him directly and put an end to him.

They went away together and came to the next world, and then Gambling Hansel made straight for the door of Heaven, and knocked at it. "Who is there?" - "Gambling Hansel." - "Ah, we will have nothing to do with him! Begone!"

So he went to the door of Purgatory, and knocked once more. "Who is there?" - "Gambling Hansel." - "Ah, there is quite enough weeping and wailing here without him. We do not want to gamble, just go away again."

Then he went to the door of Hell, and there they let him in. There was, however, no one at home but old Lucifer and the crooked devils who had just been doing their evil work in the world.

And no sooner was Hansel there than he sat down to gamble again. Lucifer, however, had nothing to lose, but his mis-shapen devils, and Gambling Hansel won them from him, as with his cards he could not fail to do.

And now he was off again with his crooked devils, and they went to Hohenfuert and pulled up a hop-pole, and with it went to Heaven and began to thrust the pole against it, and Heaven began to crack.

So again St. Peter said, "Lord, this thing cannot go on, we must let him in, or he will throw us down from Heaven." And they let him in.

But Gambling Hansel instantly began to play again, and there was such a noise and confusion that there was no hearing what they themselves were saying. Therefore St. Peter once more said, "Lord, this cannot go on, we must throw him down, or he will make all Heaven rebellious."

So they went to him at once, and threw him down, and his soul broke into fragments, and went into the gambling vagabonds who are living this very day.

Vocabulary from "Gambling Hansel"

12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.

gambleB2

/ˈɡæmbl/v.

To play games of chance for money; to bet.

赌博；下赌注。

Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble.
从前有个人什么都不干，整天只知道赌博。

creditors(creditor)C1

/ˈkredɪtəz/n.

People to whom money is owed.

债主；债权人。

Now the very day before his creditors were to take his house from him, came the Lord and St. Peter.
就在债主们要来收房子的前一天，上帝和圣彼得来了。

shelterB1

/ˈʃeltə/n.

A place giving protection, or a place to stay for the night.

庇护；住处；借宿之地。

Came the Lord and St. Peter, and asked him to give them shelter for the night.
上帝和圣彼得来了，请求他在家里借宿一晚。

groschenC1

/ˈɡrɒʃən/n.

A small silver coin once used in German-speaking lands.

格罗申（旧时德语地区的小银币）。

Thereupon St. Peter gave him three groschen, and said he was to go to the baker's and fetch some bread.
圣彼得给了他三个格罗申（银币），让他去面包师那里买些面包来。

vagabonds(vagabond)C1

/ˈvæɡəbɒndz/n.

People who wander from place to place with no home or steady work.

流浪者；游荡者。

He reached the house where the other gambling vagabonds were gathered together.
他走到那帮流浪赌徒聚集的房子时……

gutterB2

/ˈɡʌtə/n.

A channel at the side of a road or roof for carrying away water.

排水沟；檐槽。

He pretended that the money had fallen into the gutter, and kept raking about in it all the while to find it.
他假装钱掉进了排水沟里，一直在那里面扒拉着寻找。

tapB1

/tæp/n.

A device that controls the flow of liquid from a barrel or pipe.

龙头；(酒桶的)开关。

When he turned the tap, however, lo and behold, the best of wine ran out!
然而，当他扭开龙头时，瞧啊，最好的葡萄酒流了出来！

cellarB1

/ˈselə/n.

An underground room, often used for storing wine or food.

地窖；地下室。

But the Lord said he was to go down into the cellar, for the best wine was still there.
上帝说让他去地窖，因为最好的酒还在那里。

favours(favour)B2

/ˈfeɪvəz/n.

Kind acts done for someone; here, wishes to be granted.

恩惠；恩典；此处指可实现的愿望。

Early next day our Lord told Gambling Hansel that he might beg three favours.
第二天一早，上帝告诉赌徒汉赛尔，他可以请求三个恩典。

descendB2

/dɪˈsend/v.

To come or go down.

下来；下降。

A tree from which no one who had climbed up, could descend until he bade him do so.
一棵树，任何爬上去的人，只要他不发话，就别想下来。

purgatoryC1

/ˈpɜːɡətri/n.

In Catholic belief, a place where souls are cleansed before Heaven.

炼狱（天主教信仰中灵魂在升入天堂前受净化之处）。

So he went to the door of Purgatory, and knocked once more.
于是他走到炼狱门口，又敲了一次。

crookedB2

/ˈkrʊkɪd/adj.

Bent or twisted out of shape; not straight.

弯曲的；歪扭的。

There was no one at home but old Lucifer and the crooked devils who had just been doing their evil work in the world.
家里没别人，只有老路西法和那些刚在世间做完恶行的畸形魔鬼。

Reading Together & Learning More

The Moral

This is a comedy at once absurd and quietly pointed. God gives Hansel a golden chance to 'ask for Heaven,' yet all he can think of is gambling — he asks for unbeatable cards and dice. With that 'cheat code' he wins half the world, tricks Death, and cleans out Hell, but what does it come to in the end? Heaven won't have him, Purgatory finds him too noisy, Hell he throws into uproar, and at last even his soul is shattered to fragments. Through this gambler whom no place will take, the story tells us: when a person is gripped fast by an addiction, even the greatest luck and opportunity will only be fed to that bottomless craving — until he leaves himself nowhere to belong.

Educational Value

Good for talking with older children about addiction and choice: faced with a chance to 'ask for anything,' Hansel reveals what he truly values most — not Heaven, but to keep on gambling. This is a fine springboard for reflection: what a person chooses when they 'could wish for anything' shows best what really has hold of them. The story is also an 'origin legend' (it ends by saying his shattered soul went into 'all the gamblers alive today'), a way to meet the old folk-tale delight in 'explaining where something came from.'

Tips for Parents

A note: this tale is full of religious and cultural elements — God, St. Peter, Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, Lucifer — and has 'gambling' as an explicit theme, so it's best read to children over 8 who can take it as an exaggerated fable. Please note clearly: the story is in no way 'encouraging gambling' — quite the opposite, it uses a whole series of absurd comeuppances (driven off everywhere, his soul shattered) to mock the man who cannot quit his gambling habit. As you read, you can point out that irony: Hansel can win anything, yet the one thing he loses is a home to belong to. It's also a natural opening to talk about 'why gambling pulls people in deeper and deeper.' The religious settings (Heaven / Purgatory / Hell) are European cultural background — treat them as a window onto a foreign culture, with no need to delve into doctrine.

Talk About It

God lets Hansel make three wishes, expecting him to ask for Heaven, yet he asks for unbeatable cards and dice. What does that choice reveal about what he values most?
Hansel uses his unbeatable gambling tools and the tree that traps Death, and wins almost everything. So why does he end up refused by Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell alike?
The story is certainly not praising gambling — it mocks Hansel by having him 'driven off everywhere.' Why do you think the author gives him such an absurd comeuppance?
Hansel traps Death in the tree for seven years, and no one on earth dies. That sounds like a good thing — but if truly 'no one could ever die,' what would the world become?
The story ends by saying his shattered soul became 'all the gamblers of today.' Do you know any other old stories that 'explain where something came from'?