Hans in Luck

Author: After the Brothers Grimm · Retold by DozyStories

  • Age5–10
  • Reading time10 min
  • LevelIntermediate

Introduction

In folklore this tale belongs to the international type known as 'Lucky Hans' (ATU 1415), and the Brothers Grimm placed it as number 83 in their collection. It stands apart from most of their stories: there is no magic, no witch, and no villain—only a good-natured young man making one losing trade after another on his way home. For this reason readers have argued over it for centuries. Some see Hans as a complete simpleton who trades a fortune down to nothing; others see him as the only truly wise man in the story, one who knows how to set down his burdens and be content with whatever comes. At the end Hans says he must have been 'born with a caul' and calls himself a 'Sunday-child'—both are old European folk beliefs that a baby born wrapped in part of the birth membrane, or born on a Sunday, would enjoy lifelong luck. Rather than telling your child straight away that Hans is foolish, let them feel the question for themselves: who is happier—the Hans weighed down by gold, or the Hans walking home with empty hands?

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Hans in Luck - Hans receives a lump of gold as big as his head for seven years of service. Finding it heavy to carry home, he envies a horseman and naively trades his gold for the horse to travel more comfortably. - Scene Illustration 1
Hans receives a lump of gold as big as his head for seven years of service. Finding it heavy to carry home, he envies a horseman and naively trades his gold for the horse to travel more comfortably.
Hans had served his master for seven years. "Master, my time is up," he said one day. "I should be glad to go home to my mother now. Give me my wages." — "You have served me faithfully and honestly," the master answered, "and the reward shall match the service." With that he handed Hans a lump of gold as big as his head. Hans pulled out his handkerchief, wrapped the lump in it, hoisted it onto his shoulder and started for home.
As he plodded along, one foot after the other, a horseman came trotting past on a lively horse, looking merry and comfortable. "What a fine thing riding is!" said Hans out loud. "You sit there as if you were in a chair. You trip over no stones, you save your shoes, and you get along without knowing how."
The rider heard him, pulled up and called out, "Hello there, Hans! Why are you going on foot?"
"I have no choice," he answered. "I have this lump to carry home. Gold it may be, but I cannot hold my head straight for it, and it is bruising my shoulder."
"I will tell you what," said the rider. "Let us trade. You take my horse and I shall take your lump."
"Gladly," said Hans, "but I warn you, it will have you crawling along."
Hans in Luck - Hans loses control of the horse and is thrown into a ditch. Deciding riding is too dangerous, he happily trades the horse for a cow from a passing peasant, dreaming of endless milk, butter, and cheese. - Scene Illustration 2
Hans loses control of the horse and is thrown into a ditch. Deciding riding is too dangerous, he happily trades the horse for a cow from a passing peasant, dreaming of endless milk, butter, and cheese.
The rider got down, took the gold and helped Hans up, putting the reins firmly into his hands. "If you want a really good pace," he said, "click your tongue and call out, Jup! Jup!"
Hans was delighted to be sitting on a horse, riding along so bold and free. After a while he thought it ought to go faster, so he clicked his tongue and called, "Jup! Jup!" The horse broke into a sharp trot, and before Hans knew what was happening he was thrown off and lying in the ditch between the field and the highway. The horse would have run off as well, but a countryman who was coming along the road, driving a cow in front of him, caught hold of it.
Hans gathered up his limbs and got back on his feet, but he was thoroughly put out. "Riding is a poor joke," he told the countryman, "especially when you get a mare like this one, that kicks and throws you and gives you every chance of breaking your neck. I shall never mount her again. Now your cow is more to my liking. You can walk quietly along behind her, and on top of that you have your milk and butter and cheese every day without fail. What would I not give for a cow like that!" — "Well," said the countryman, "if it would please you so much, I do not mind trading the cow for the horse." Hans agreed with the greatest delight. The countryman sprang onto the horse and rode quickly away.
Hans drove his cow quietly along and turned his lucky bargain over in his mind. "Bread I shall surely never be short of, and with bread I can have butter and cheese whenever the fancy takes me. If I am thirsty, I milk my cow and drink. Good heart, what more could a man want?"
Hans in Luck - Thirsty Hans tries to milk the cow but gets kicked unconscious. A butcher helps him up and convinces him the old cow is useless for milk. Preferring juicy pork and sausages, Hans trades the cow for the butcher's young pig. - Scene Illustration 3
Thirsty Hans tries to milk the cow but gets kicked unconscious. A butcher helps him up and convinces him the old cow is useless for milk. Preferring juicy pork and sausages, Hans trades the cow for the butcher's young pig.
At an inn he stopped for a rest, and in his great contentment he ate up everything he had with him — his dinner and his supper, the whole of it — and spent his last few coins on half a glass of beer. Then he drove his cow on along the road towards his mother's village.
As midday came on, the heat grew heavier, and Hans found himself on a moor that took a good hour to cross. It was very hot, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth with thirst. "There is a cure for this," he thought. "I shall milk the cow and refresh myself with the milk." He tied her to a withered tree, and since he had no pail he put his leather cap underneath. But try as he might, not a drop came. He went about it clumsily, and at last the impatient animal gave him such a kick on the head with her hind foot that he fell to the ground and lay a long while without knowing where he was.
By good luck a butcher came along the road just then with a wheelbarrow, and in it lay a young pig. "What sort of trick is this?" he cried, and helped good Hans up. Hans told him what had happened. The butcher handed him his flask. "Take a drink and get your strength back. That cow will give no milk. She is an old beast, and at best she is fit for the plough or the butcher." — "Well, well," said Hans, smoothing his hair down over his head, "who would have thought it? It is a fine thing, to be sure, to kill a beast like that at home — what a lot of meat! Beef, though, is not much to my taste; too dry by half. A young pig now — that is the thing worth owning. Quite another flavour altogether, and think of the sausages besides!"
"Listen, Hans," said the butcher, "out of pure goodwill I shall trade with you. You may have the pig for the cow." — "Heaven reward you for your kindness!" said Hans, and he gave up the cow. The pig was untied from the barrow, and the cord it was tied with was put into his hand.
Hans in Luck - Hans meets a lad carrying a goose, who scares him by suggesting the pig might be stolen from the Mayor. To avoid trouble, Hans gratefully trades the pig for the goose, fantasizing about roast meat and a feather pillow. - Scene Illustration 4
Hans meets a lad carrying a goose, who scares him by suggesting the pig might be stolen from the Mayor. To avoid trouble, Hans gratefully trades the pig for the goose, fantasizing about roast meat and a feather pillow.
Hans went on, thinking how everything was falling out just as he wished. Whenever some trouble met him, it was put right again at once. Presently a lad joined him who was carrying a fine white goose under his arm. They wished each other good morning, and Hans began telling of his good luck and of all the fine bargains he had made. The lad said he was taking the goose to a christening feast. "Just lift her," he added, taking hold of her by the wings. "How heavy she is — she has been fattened these eight weeks. Whoever gets a piece of her when she is roasted will have to wipe the fat off both sides of his mouth." — Hans weighed her in one hand. "Heavy enough, I grant you," he said. "Still, there is nothing wrong with my pig."
Meanwhile the lad was glancing suspiciously from side to side and shaking his head. "Look here," he said at last, "there may be something wrong about that pig of yours. In the village I have just come through, the mayor himself had one stolen out of its sty. I am afraid — I am very much afraid — that this is the one. They have sent people out after it, and it would go badly for you if they caught you with it. The least you could expect is to be shut up in the dark hole."
Good Hans was terrified. "Goodness me! Help me out of this fix. You know the place better than I do. Take my pig and leave me your goose." — "There is a risk in it for me," the lad answered, "but I would not have you land in trouble on my account." With that he took the cord and hurried the pig away down a side path.
Good Hans, with all his worries behind him, went on homewards with the goose under his arm. "When I think it over properly," he said to himself, "I have actually gained by the trade. First there is the fine roast meat. Then all the fat that will drip out of it, which will give me dripping for my bread for three months. And last of all the beautiful white feathers. I shall have my pillow stuffed with them, and then I shall fall asleep without any rocking. How pleased my mother will be!"
Hans in Luck - Charmed by a grinder's song, Hans trades his goose for a worn grindstone and a common rock. When the stones accidentally fall into a well, Hans thanks God for relieving him of the burden and returns home empty-handed but overjoyed. - Scene Illustration 5
Charmed by a grinder's song, Hans trades his goose for a worn grindstone and a common rock. When the stones accidentally fall into a well, Hans thanks God for relieving him of the burden and returns home empty-handed but overjoyed.
As he was passing through the last village, a scissors-grinder stood there with his barrow. His wheel whirred, and he sang: "I sharpen the scissors, I grind them round, My coat blows out as I turn them round." Hans stood still and watched him, and at last spoke to him. "Things must go well with you, since you are so merry over your grinding." — "They do," answered the grinder. "This trade has a golden bottom to it. A real grinder is a man who finds gold in his pocket every time he puts his hand in. But where did you buy that fine goose?"
"I did not buy her. I traded my pig for her." "And the pig?" "That I got for a cow." "And the cow?" "She came to me in place of a horse." "And the horse?" "I parted with a lump of gold for it, one as big as my head." "And that gold?" "Seven years of service earned it." "You have looked after yourself well every time," said the grinder. "Get yourself to the point where you hear money jingling in your pocket each time you stand up, and your fortune is made."
"And how am I to manage that?" said Hans. — "You must be a grinder, as I am. Nothing is needed for it but a grindstone; the rest follows of itself. I have one here. It is a little worn, I grant you, but I shall ask nothing for it except your goose. Will you do it?"
"How can you even ask?" answered Hans. "I shall be the luckiest fellow alive. If I have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket, what have I left to worry about?" He handed over the goose and took the grindstone in exchange. "Now," said the grinder, picking up an ordinary heavy stone lying beside him, "here is a good solid stone into the bargain. You can hammer on it and straighten your old nails. Take it with you and look after it."
Hans loaded himself with the stones and walked on with a contented heart, his eyes shining with joy. "I must have been born lucky," he cried. "Everything I want simply happens to me, as though I were a Sunday child."
But he had been on his feet since daybreak, and now he began to feel tired. Hunger troubled him too, for in his delight over the cow bargain he had eaten his whole store of food at one sitting. At last he could hardly go on at all, and had to stop every minute; and the stones weighed him down dreadfully. He could not help thinking how pleasant it would be if he did not have to carry them just now.
He crawled like a snail to a well in a field, meaning to rest there and refresh himself with a cool drink of water. So that he should not damage the stones by sitting on them, he laid them carefully beside him on the rim of the well. Then he sat down and was bending to drink when he slipped, knocked against the stones, and both of them fell into the water. Hans watched them sink to the bottom with his own eyes — and he jumped for joy. Then he knelt down with tears in his eyes and thanked God for this kindness too, for delivering him so neatly, and with nothing to reproach himself for, from the heavy stones that had been his only trouble.
"There is no man under the sun as fortunate as I am," he cried. And with a light heart, free of every burden, he ran on until he was at home with his mother.

Vocabulary from "Hans in Luck"

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

wages(wage)B1
/ˈweɪdʒɪz/n.

Money paid for work done.

工钱；工资。

"I should be glad to go home to my mother now. Give me my wages."

"我想回家去看我母亲了。把工钱结给我吧。"

faithfullyB2
/ˈfeɪθfəli/adv.

In a loyal and reliable way.

忠实地。

— "You have served me faithfully and honestly," the master answered, "and the reward shall match the service."

——"你伺候我一向忠厚老实，"主人答道，"活儿做得怎样，酬劳就该怎样。"

plodded(plod)C1
/plɒd/v.

Walked slowly with heavy steps.

沉重地行走；一步步挪。

As he plodded along, one foot after the other, a horseman came trotting past on a lively horse, looking merry and comfortable.

他一步一步往前挪，这时一个骑马的人从旁边小跑而过，胯下的马神气十足，那人看着又快活又自在。

reins(rein)B2
/reɪnz/n.

The straps used to control a horse.

缰绳。

The rider got down, took the gold and helped Hans up, putting the reins firmly into his hands.

骑马的下了马，接过金子，扶汉斯上去，把缰绳牢牢塞进他手里。

trotB2
/trɒt/n.

A horse's pace between walking and running.

小跑。

The horse broke into a sharp trot, and before Hans knew what was happening he was thrown off and lying in the ditch between the field and the highway.

那马撒开蹄子小跑起来，汉斯还没回过神，就被甩了出去，摔进了田地和大路之间的沟里。

bargainB2
/ˈbɑːɡɪn/n.

A deal in which something is exchanged.

买卖；交易。

Hans drove his cow quietly along and turned his lucky bargain over in his mind.

汉斯不紧不慢地赶着牛，心里盘算这笔好买卖。

moorC1
/mɔː/n.

A wide open area of rough, high ground.

荒野；旷野。

As midday came on, the heat grew heavier, and Hans found himself on a moor that took a good hour to cross.

临近正午，暑气越发闷人，汉斯走上一片荒野，横穿过去要足足一个钟头。

withered(wither)C1
/ˈwɪðəd/adj.

Dried up and lifeless.

枯萎的。

He tied her to a withered tree, and since he had no pail he put his leather cap underneath.

他把牛拴在一棵枯树上，手边没有桶，就把自己的皮帽子放在下面接着。

clumsilyB2
/ˈklʌmzɪli/adv.

In an awkward way, without skill.

笨手笨脚地。

He went about it clumsily, and at last the impatient animal gave him such a kick on the head with her hind foot that he fell to the ground and lay a long while without knowing where he was.

他动作又笨，那头牛终于不耐烦了，后蹄照着他脑袋狠狠一踢，他倒在地上，好半天不知道自己身在何处。

suspiciouslyB2
/səˈspɪʃəsli/adv.

In a way that shows you do not trust something.

疑神疑鬼地。

Meanwhile the lad was glancing suspiciously from side to side and shaking his head.

这工夫，小伙子的眼睛不住地左右瞟，还摇了摇头。

grindstoneC1
/ˈɡraɪndstəʊn/n.

A round stone turned to sharpen blades.

磨石；砂轮。

"Nothing is needed for it but a grindstone; the rest follows of itself."

"这行当别的什么都不用，只要一块磨石，其余自然就有了。"

burdenB2
/ˈbɜːdn/n.

A heavy load, or a worry that weighs on you.

重负；负担。

And with a light heart, free of every burden, he ran on until he was at home with his mother.

他心里轻快，浑身没了负担，一路跑回家，回到了母亲身边。

Reading Together & Learning More

The Moral

True contentment lies not in how much we own but in a light and untroubled heart—though the tale also invites the opposite reading, that a man too innocent of the world may be losing his fortune step by step.

Educational Value

Invites children to reflect on the relationship between wealth and happiness, nurturing contentment while exercising critical thinking—the very same story can be read as foolishly trading gold for stones, or as wisely letting go of every burden.

Tips for Parents

Discuss with your child: is Hans a fool, or a man at peace with himself? There is no correct answer—encouraging your child to give reasons matters more than memorising a moral.

Talk About It

  1. Each trade seems to leave Hans worse off, yet he grows happier every time. Do you think he is foolish, or wise about life?
  2. There is no villain and no magic in this story. Why does a man who has lost everything feel, at the end, like the luckiest person alive?
  3. If you were given a lump of gold as big as your head, what would you do with it?
  4. Are 'being happy' and 'owning a lot of things' the same thing? Can you give an example from your own life?
  5. Hans ends up empty-handed but feels a great weight lifted. Have you ever felt lighter after letting go of something?

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