The Three Little Men in the Wood

Author: A Brothers Grimm Tale · Retold as a Fable by DozyStories

  • Age5–10
  • Reading time12 min
  • LevelIntermediate

Introduction

"The Three Little Men in the Wood" is a classic tale of kindness rewarded and cruelty repaid, and folklorists give its pattern a famous name: "the Kind and Unkind Girls" (ATU 480). The same shape appears in "Mother Hulda" and in Perrault's "The Fairies". In every version, a good heart earns wonders while a mean one earns a curse, which is why this story feels so close to a Chinese fable — it says, plainly, that you reap what you sow. The three little men act like a mirror, showing each girl the true face of her own heart. The second half adds an older motif: the kind queen is thrown into a river, comes back each night as a duck to tend her baby, and is set free only when the king waves his sword over her. The ending is the cleverest part. The king does not accuse the wicked stepmother; he simply asks what punishment such a crime deserves, and she names it herself — a barrel rolled into the river. She passes her own sentence, and her own words destroy her. As you read, ask your child to guess why the same three little men treat the two girls so differently. The answer lies not with the little men, but in the hearts of the girls — and that is a lesson as old as any Chinese proverb.

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The Three Little Men in the Wood - A widower lets a boot full of water decide his remarriage, and the new stepmother soon shows her cruel heart toward her kind and pretty stepdaughter. - Scene Illustration 1
A widower lets a boot full of water decide his remarriage, and the new stepmother soon shows her cruel heart toward her kind and pretty stepdaughter.
Long ago, a man lost his wife, and a woman lost her husband. Each had one daughter, and the two girls often played together. One day the woman said to the man's daughter, "Go home and tell your father that I am willing to marry him. Then you will wash in milk and drink wine every morning, while my own girl must make do with water." The girl hurried home and told her father every word.
The father could not decide. "Marriage is a joy," he said, "but it is also a burden." At last he pulled off his boot and handed it to his daughter. "There is a hole in the sole," he said. "Hang this boot on the big nail in the loft and pour water into it. If the boot holds the water, I will marry again. If the water runs out, I will not."
The girl did as she was told. The wet leather swelled up and closed the hole, and the boot held every drop. Her father climbed up, saw it with his own eyes, and went to ask for the woman's hand. Soon the wedding was held.
On the first morning, milk and wine stood by the man's daughter's bed, and water by the other girl's bed. On the second morning, both girls had water. On the third morning, the man's daughter had only water, while the woman's daughter had milk and wine — and so it stayed from that day on. The woman hated her stepdaughter and thought of worse and worse tricks. She was jealous, too, for the stepdaughter was kind and pretty, while her own girl was plain and mean.
The Three Little Men in the Wood - In deep winter the stepdaughter must hunt strawberries in a paper coat; she shares her bread with three little men, sweeps their snow, and earns gold and blessings. - Scene Illustration 2
In deep winter the stepdaughter must hunt strawberries in a paper coat; she shares her bread with three little men, sweeps their snow, and earns gold and blessings.
Deep winter came, with hard frost and deep snow on every hill. The woman sewed a coat out of paper and called her stepdaughter. "Put this on," she said. "Go into the wood and bring me a basket of strawberries. I long for them."
"But strawberries do not grow in winter," said the girl. "The ground is frozen hard, and the snow hides everything. And a paper coat? The wind will blow right through it, and the thorns will tear it off my back."
"How dare you talk back!" cried the stepmother. "Be off, and do not come home until you bring me a basket of strawberries." She threw her a small piece of hard bread. "That is your food for the day." Inside, she thought, "She will freeze or starve out there, and I will never see her again."
The girl had no choice. In her paper coat she walked into the wood, where snow covered the whole land and not a blade of green was to be seen. Deep in the wood she came to a little house, and three little men looked out at her. She gave them a polite greeting and knocked softly on the door. They asked her in, and she sat by the fire to warm herself and eat her bread. "Share some with us," said the little men.
"With pleasure," she said, and she broke her bread in two and gave them half. "Why are you in the wood in winter, in such a thin coat?" they asked. "I must pick a basket of strawberries," she said, "and I dare not go home without them." After she had eaten, the little men gave her a broom and asked her to sweep the snow from the back door. While she worked outside, they talked about how to reward her, for she was kind and pretty and had shared her bread. "Let her grow prettier every day," said the first. "Let a piece of gold fall from her mouth every time she speaks," said the second. "Let a king marry her," said the third.
The girl swept the snow away, and what do you think lay under it? Big ripe strawberries, shining red against the white snow. She filled her basket with joy, thanked the little men, shook hands with each one, and hurried home. "Good evening," she said as she came in, and a piece of gold dropped from her mouth. She told them all about the wood, and with every word more gold fell out, until the floor glittered with gold.
The Three Little Men in the Wood - The stepsister goes to the wood in furs, but she is rude and stingy with the little men, and so she earns a curse: she grows uglier and toads jump from her mouth. - Scene Illustration 3
The stepsister goes to the wood in furs, but she is rude and stingy with the little men, and so she earns a curse: she grows uglier and toads jump from her mouth.
When the stepsister saw the gold, envy filled her heart. "She shows off and scatters money about!" she cried, and she too wanted to go to the wood for strawberries. Her mother tried to stop her. "It is far too cold, my dear. You will freeze." But the girl would not listen, and in the end her mother gave in. She dressed her in a warm fur coat and packed bread, butter and cakes for the trip.
Into the wood went the girl, straight to the little house. The three little men looked out at her, but she did not greet them, and she did not even glance their way. She marched into the room, sat down by the fire and ate her bread, butter and cakes.
"Share some with us," said the little men. "I have barely enough for myself," she answered. "Why should I give any to you?" When she had finished eating, they said, "Here is a broom. Sweep the snow from the back door." "Sweep it yourselves," she snapped. "I am not your servant." But she saw that they would give her nothing, so at last she went outside.
The three little men put their heads together. "What shall we do with her?" they said. "She is so rude, so mean and so jealous, and she begrudges everyone everything." "Let her grow uglier every day," said the first. "Let a toad jump from her mouth every time she speaks," said the second. "Let her come to a bad end," said the third.
The girl looked for strawberries all around, but found not one, so she went home in a sulk. The moment she opened her mouth to tell her mother about the wood, a toad jumped out at every word, and everyone who came near her ran away in disgust.
The Three Little Men in the Wood - The king marries the kind girl and she bears a son, but the stepmother and stepsister throw her into the river and put the ugly daughter in her place. - Scene Illustration 4
The king marries the kind girl and she bears a son, but the stepmother and stepsister throw her into the river and put the ugly daughter in her place.
Day by day the man's daughter grew more beautiful, and day by day the stepmother's hatred grew too. She could think of nothing but new ways to hurt the girl. At last she boiled a pot of water and scalded some yarn in it. She hung the yarn over the girl's shoulder, put an axe in her hand, and sent her to the frozen river. "Cut a hole in the ice," she said, "and rinse the yarn there." The girl obeyed and cut a hole in the ice. While she was working, a fine coach drove up, and the king sat inside it. "My child," said the king, "who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I am a poor girl," she answered, "and I am rinsing yarn." The king felt sorry for her, and she was so beautiful that he said, "Will you come with me?"
"Yes, with all my heart," she said, for she was glad to leave her stepmother and stepsister behind.
She stepped into the coach and rode with the king to his castle, where a grand wedding was held, just as the three little men in the wood had said.
A year later, the young queen had a son. When the stepmother heard of her good luck, she came to the castle with her daughter, as if for a friendly visit. Then one day, when the king was away and no one else was about, the wicked woman seized the queen by the head while her daughter took hold of her feet. Together they dragged her from her bed and threw her out of the window into the river below. Then the old woman laid her own ugly daughter in the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.
The king came home and wanted to speak with his wife, but the old woman stopped him. "Hush! She is sleeping so well. She must rest today." The king suspected nothing. The next morning he came again, and when he spoke, his wife answered — but a toad jumped from her mouth at every word, where gold used to fall. He asked what was wrong, and the old woman said it was only weakness, and it would pass.
The Three Little Men in the Wood - The queen comes back each night as a duck to tend her baby; the king breaks the spell with three waves of his sword, and the wicked pair are rolled into the river in a barrel. - Scene Illustration 5
The queen comes back each night as a duck to tend her baby; the king breaks the spell with three waves of his sword, and the wicked pair are rolled into the river in a barrel.
But that night, the boy who slept in the kitchen saw a duck swim up the gutter. The duck said, "My king, my king, what are you doing? Are you asleep, or are you awake?" No one answered. Then it said, "How are my two guests?" The boy answered, "They sleep, and they make no sound." The duck asked again, "Is my little baby well?" He answered, "He sleeps in his cradle, safe and still."
Then the duck became the queen again. She walked to the baby, gave him a drink of water, fixed his little bed and covered him up. Then she became a duck once more and swam away down the gutter. She came two nights like this. On the third night she said to the boy, "Go to the king and tell him to wave his sword over me three times, right here on the threshold." The boy ran and told the king. The king came with his sword and waved it three times over the duck. At the third wave, his wife stood before him, alive and well, just as before.
The king was overjoyed, but he hid the queen in a room until Sunday, when the baby was to be baptised. After the baptism, the king asked the people, "What does a person deserve who drags another out of bed and throws her into the water?"
"Nothing better," said the old woman, "than to be put in a barrel, nailed shut, and rolled down the hill into the river." "Then you have passed your own sentence," said the king. He ordered a barrel to be brought. The old woman and her daughter were put inside, and the lid was nailed down. The barrel rolled down the hill into the river, and no one ever saw them again.

Vocabulary from "The Three Little Men in the Wood"

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

soleB2
/səʊl/n.

The bottom part of a shoe.

鞋底。

"There is a hole in the sole," he said.

"这靴底有个窟窿，"他说。

loftB2
/lɒft/n.

A room or space just under the roof.

阁楼；屋顶下的储藏间。

"Hang this boot on the big nail in the loft and pour water into it. If the boot holds the water, I will marry again. If the water runs out, I will not."

"你把它端到阁楼上，挂在那颗大钉子上，往里灌满水。水若存得住，我就再娶；水若漏了，此事便罢。"

swelled(swell)B2
/sweld/v.

Became bigger and softer, like dry leather in water.

（皮子遇水）膨胀、胀大。

The wet leather swelled up and closed the hole, and the boot held every drop.

谁想皮子见了水便发胀，窟窿竟自己合上了，靴子装得满满当当。

frostB1
/frɒst/n.

Very cold weather that freezes water and covers things with ice.

霜冻；严寒。

Deep winter came, with hard frost and deep snow on every hill.

严冬到了，天寒地冻，山上谷里积着厚雪。

jealousB2
/ˈdʒeləs/adj.

Feeling angry or unhappy because someone else has something good.

嫉妒的；眼红的。

She was jealous, too, for the stepdaughter was kind and pretty, while her own girl was plain and mean.

她又嫉妒，继女生得又和气又标致，自己的女儿却又丑又刻薄。

envyB2
/ˈenvi/n.

The unhappy feeling you have when you want what someone else has.

嫉妒；羡慕。

When the stepsister saw the gold, envy filled her heart.

继姐见了满地的金子，又气又妒。

sulkC1
/sʌlk/n.

A silent, angry mood.

赌气；生闷气。

The girl looked for strawberries all around, but found not one, so she went home in a sulk.

姑娘在外头寻了半天，一颗草莓也没寻着，只好气鼓鼓地回家。

toadB2
/təʊd/n.

A small animal like a frog, with dry bumpy skin.

癞蛤蟆；蟾蜍。

The next morning he came again, and when he spoke, his wife answered — but a toad jumped from her mouth at every word, where gold used to fall.

第二天清晨，他又来看妻子；妻子一开口，从前掉金子的地方，如今每说一个字便蹦出一只癞蛤蟆。

scalded(scald)C1
/ˈskɔːldɪd/v.

Treated something with very hot water.

（用开水）烫。

At last she boiled a pot of water and scalded some yarn in it.

这一日，她烧了一锅滚水，把纱线烫过。

thresholdC1
/ˈθreʃhəʊld/n.

The strip of wood or stone at the bottom of a doorway.

门槛。

"Go to the king and tell him to wave his sword over me three times, right here on the threshold."

"去告诉国王，请他在门槛上拿剑朝我挥三下。"

cradleB2
/ˈkreɪdl/n.

A small bed for a baby that can be rocked.

摇篮。

"He sleeps in his cradle, safe and still."

"他在摇篮里睡得安安稳稳。"

begrudges(begrudge)C1
/bɪˈɡrʌdʒɪz/v.

Feels unhappy about giving something or about others having good things.

吝于给予；见不得别人好。

"She is so rude, so mean and so jealous, and she begrudges everyone everything."

"这人如此无礼，心肠又坏又妒，见不得别人半点好。"

Reading Together & Learning More

The Moral

Kindness is rewarded and cruelty is repaid: those who share and show respect meet good fortune at every turn, while the selfish and the jealous bring ruin upon themselves.

Educational Value

The sharp contrast between the two sisters helps children feel the weight of sharing, courtesy and kindness, and teaches the simple truth that we reap what we sow — with a vivid image of gold and toads falling from the mouth.

Tips for Parents

As you read, ask your child to compare how the two girls behave in the little house and say what the real difference is. Then ask: if every word you spoke turned into something you could see, what would you want it to be? Finish by using the gold-and-toad image to talk about the power of kind words.

Talk About It

  1. The two girls walk into the same wood and meet the same little men. Why does one earn gold and the other earn toads?
  2. The kind girl has only a small piece of bread, yet she shares half of it. If you had only a little food, would you share it? Why or why not?
  3. The little men ask both girls to sweep the snow. One does it gladly, the other refuses with angry words. Do you think this makes a difference to what happens later?
  4. The stepmother and her daughter end up rolled into the river in a barrel. Is this ending fair? If you were the king, what would you do with them?
  5. If every word you said turned into something you could see, what would you want your words to become? Why?

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