Herr Korbes
Introduction
"Herr Korbes" is tale 41 in the Brothers Grimm collection and a classic "chain tale": a cock and a hen set out, and one odd companion after another — a millstone, an egg, a duck, a pin, a needle — joins the journey until the little carriage holds a whole crowd. In this retelling we have reshaped the tale as a fable: fewer flourishes, sharper turns, plain short sentences, the way an elder tells a story by lamplight. The setting stays European — a house, a hearth, a well, a barn — but the telling borrows the rhythm of Chinese folk wisdom. The strangest thing about the original is that it never says what Herr Korbes did wrong. Its last line simply declares that he must have been very wicked, and readers have argued about that mystery for two hundred years; even Wilhelm Grimm never explained who Korbes was. Ancient Chinese wisdom has a name for such rumours: "three men spread a story about a tiger, and soon everyone believes the tiger is real." In the Warring States period, when three messengers told Zeng Shen's mother that her son had killed a man, even she — who knew her own son best — climbed over the wall and fled. A tale repeated often enough feels like truth. So read this fable as a game: let your child play detective and ask whether the storyteller ever offers one piece of evidence against Herr Korbes. The answer will surprise them, and the question will stay with them far longer than the millstone does.
Vocabulary from "Herr Korbes"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
A vehicle with wheels that is pulled along.
马车；四轮车。
The cock built a little carriage with four red wheels, and he tied four mice to the front.
公鸡亲自动手，造了一辆小马车，四个轮子漆得通红，车前套上四只小老鼠。
To fall suddenly and clumsily.
跌落；摔下来。
"Yes," said the cock, "but climb in at the back, or you may tumble off the front. And please do not dirty my red wheels."
“肯的，只是你得从后面上车，别弄脏我的红轮子。”
Pushed into a space that is almost too small.
挤进；塞入。
Every one of them squeezed into the little carriage.
大家谁也不问要去哪儿，一个个挤上马车，浩浩荡荡往前走。
A large round stone used for grinding grain into flour.
磨盘；磨石。
Along the way, a millstone joined them.
先是来了一块磨盘，接着是一个鸡蛋。
Slightly open, not closed.
（门等）半开着的；微开的。
The door stood ajar, and the master was not at home.
大门虚掩，老爷却不在家。
A bar or branch where a bird rests.
栖木；（鸟的）歇脚处。
The cock and the hen flew up onto a perch.
老鼠把车拉进谷仓，公鸡母鸡飞上栖木。
The floor of a fireplace.
炉膛；壁炉前的地面。
The cat curled up by the hearth, and the duck sat on the pole above the well.
猫蜷在炉膛边，鸭子落在井口的横杆上。
The grey powder left after something burns.
灰；灰烬。
The cat threw a cloud of ashes straight into his face.
猫扬起一把灰，劈头盖脸扑了他满脸。
Threw water about noisily.
泼；溅。
The duck splashed water all over him.
鸭子又泼了他一身水。
Made a tiny hole in the skin with something sharp.
刺；扎。
The pin pricked him at once.
别针扎了他一下。
Very bad; cruel on purpose.
邪恶的；坏透了的。
"He must have been a very wicked man indeed," they all said.
“他一定是个坏得不能再坏的人吧！”大家这样说。
To decide if someone is right or wrong, good or bad.
评判；判断。
So think for yourself: should we judge a man we have never seen, on words we have never checked?
道理却要听的人自己去掂量：断人善恶，先问证据。
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
Judge a person only with evidence. To act on a single word — "he is bad" — may wrong the innocent and hurt you too.
Educational Value
Children learn to ask for evidence before believing a claim, and to see that small, weak companions can do great things together when they use their wits.
Tips for Parents
Before you read the end, ask your child what bad thing Herr Korbes might have done. Then point out that the story never tells us. You could make a family rule: before we blame someone, we name our evidence. You can also turn the cock's chant — "Roll on, little wheels! Squeak, little mice!" — into a call-and-response game, one line each, back and forth.
Talk About It
- The story says Herr Korbes must have been very wicked. But can you remember one bad thing he actually did? Did the tale ever tell us?
- If someone says "he is bad" but shows no proof, would you believe them? How would you check the story for yourself?
- The cock, the hen, the egg, and the pin all join the journey. Why do you think they wanted to travel together?
- If you were the storyteller, what would you write in the last line of this tale?
- The millstone, the duck, and the egg take turns troubling Herr Korbes. Is that justice, or is it more like a group prank?
