(Overnight Music) #13 THE GOLDEN SNAIL - Jasons Bed Time Story Time

Hello and welcome to jasonnewland.com. My name is Jason Newland and this is Jason's Bedtime Storytime and today I'm going to read one of the Brother Grimm's fairy tales, The Frog King or Iron Henry. Okay, just made sure I hadn't read this one before. Or should I read a different one? I'm going to read a different one.

Okay, The Twelve Huntsmen, The Golden Goose. Yeah, let's do The Golden Goose. The Golden Goose.

So please only listen when you can safely close your eyes and the point of this is that I can read you a lovely little story. I don't know how many pages there are. There's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Seven pages so it's not a long story. And it's The Golden Goose so you're going to know this story anyway. But this may be a different version and I will be adapting so it will be a different version from the version I'm even reading.

Yeah, The Golden Goose. So only listen when you can safely close your eyes. So that's it.

So there was a man. There was a man who had three sons. The youngest of whom was called Dumling and was despised, mocked and put down on every occasion.

A bit like Joseph, isn't it? Joseph isn't in the technicolour pyjamas or whatever. Do you remember? Because, mind you, he had more than two brothers, didn't he? Anyway, it happened that the eldest wanted to go into the forest to Hugh Wood and before he went his mother gave him a beautiful sweet cake and a bottle of wine in order that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst.

I wish I had a mother like that.

I'd be sent to school every day with a bottle of wine. That would be brilliant. And wine doesn't quench your thirst anyway, does it? Anyway, when he entered the forest there met him, there met him a little grey-haired old man who bade him good day and said, Do give me a piece of cake out of your pocket and let me have a draught of your wine.

I am so hungry and thirsty. But the prudent youth answered, If I give you my cake and wine I shall have none for myself. Be off with you.

And he left the little man standing and went on. He was a bit of an urchin, wasn't he? He didn't want to share his wine or cake. He shouldn't be drinking wine at his age.

He's only six. But when he began to Hugh down a tree, I don't know what that means, it was not long before he made a false stroke and the axe cut him in the arm. So that he had to go home and have it bound up.

And this was the little grey man's doing. So I guess Hughing is chopping, or just chopping, Hughing. The screen on my Kindle keeps going down, the light.

After this, the second son, How is it the grey man's doing? Doesn't explain that. Just said it was the little grey man's doing. Or was he invisible? Was he in fact the axe? Or did he turn himself into the tree and just dodge the axe so that it went into his arm? Anyway, how do you cut your arm with an axe? So I remember I nearly chopped my leg off once, because I missed the tree, and ended up, it didn't embed because it was pretty much blunt.

So I think it kind of bounced off the tree and then into my leg. And never seen my dad laugh so much. How do you do it in your arm? How long were his arms? Perhaps he had a really, really long arm.

And normally, wouldn't you be holding the axe with both hands? So it's practically impossible for that axe to get into your arm. Anyway, doesn't go into enough detail. So after this, the second son went into the forest, and his mother gave him, like the eldest, a cake and a bottle of wine.

The little old grey man met him likewise, and asked him for a piece of cake and a drink of wine. But the second son, too, said with much reason, What I give you will be taken away from myself. Be off.

Go away. Leave me alone. And he left the little man standing there and went on.

His punishment, however, was not delayed. When he had made a few strokes at the tree, he struck himself in the leg, so that he had to be carried home. I was ahead of it when I started talking about, you know, the leg story.

Remember that interesting story I told you a few seconds ago? I didn't know that was going to happen here. I don't know what this has got to do with a goose, either. When's the goose going to come? Come on, it's about a goose.

We talk about men with wine chopping down trees and missing a tree. Where's the goose? Then Dumling said, Father, don't let me go, and cut word. The father answered, Your brother has hurt themselves with it.

Leave it alone. You do not understand anything about it. But Dumling begged so long that at last he said, Just go then.

You'll be wiser by hurting yourself. Nice. His mother gave him a cake made with water and baked in cinders and with it a bottle of sour beer.

In other words, his mother hated him. Gave him a cake made with water. In other words, cardboard, basically.

A bottle of sour beer. I mean, what did he ever do to his mum? Some of these fairy tales are really cruel. I mean, what did she do? She put it in a little bag and then farted in the bag as well.

I mean, you know. When he came to the forest, the little old grey man met him likewise and greeting him said, Give me a piece of your cake and a drink out of your bottle. I am so hungry and thirsty.

Dumling answered, I have only cider cake and sour beer. If that pleases you, we will sit down and eat together. Does that sound nice? If you if you really want to, I can tickle your toes.

So they sat down and when Dumling pulled out his cinder cake, it was a fine sweet cake. Wow! And the sour beer had become good wine. Wow! And when he put his nose to the bag that the stuff was in and he breathed in, it smelled lovely.

It was no longer a smelly mummy fart. So they ate and drank. And after that, the little man said, Since you have a good heart and are willing to divide what you have, I will give you good luck.

Now, look over there. You see? You see over there? No, no, behind you. No, to the left.

To the left. Put your glasses on. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Yeah, there, there stands an old tree. Cut it down and you'll find something at the roots. Then the little man took leave of him.

Where are you going? Dumling sent. Why are you leaving me here on my own? I'm feeling lonely now. It was your turn to tickle my toes.

But the little old man continued to walk away. Dumling had never, ever in his entire life, ever been so angry. Dumling went and cut down the tree and when it fell, there was a goose sitting in the roots with feathers of pure gold.

Up to this point, I was really believing everything. How did a goose get into the roots of a tree? It's not kind of the natural habitat, is it, of a goose? So he lifted her up and taking her with him, went to an inn where he thought he would stay the night. I'm a little bit worried where this is going.

I feel like I should read the next sentence before reading it out loud. I'm not sure what's going to go on inside that inn with that goose. Now the host of the inn had three daughters who saw the goose and were curious to know what such a wonderful bird might be and would have liked to have one of its golden feathers.

The eldest thought I should soon find an opportunity of pulling out a feather. And as soon as Dumling had gone out, she seized the goose by the wing but her finger and hand remained sticking fast to it. So it must have been stuck with glue or maybe maybe it had some sticky stuff on it left over from the... The second came soon afterwards, thinking only of how she might get a feather for herself.

But she had scarcely touched her sister. Then she was held fast as well. So she was stuck to her sister.

At last the third also came with the like intent and the others screamed out. Keep away! For goodness sake! Keep away! But she did not understand why she was to keep away. The others are here.

They're there. So I might as well be there too. Now it's not fair then just to be there.

Why can't I be there? Besides if I get closer then I'll be able to understand what they're saying to me. I think they want that golden goose to themselves and that's not fair. I want to be part of things.

They never let me play with any of the toys. I want to be part of this story too. Why shouldn't I be? I'm here, aren't I? Why can't I be part of it? I live in this inn as well.

And she ran to them. But as soon as she had touched her sister she remained as sticking fast to her. So they had to spend the night with the goose.

The next morning the goose woke up with a very big smile and Dumling took the goose under his arm and set out without troubling herself about the three girls who were hanging onto it. So he went into the room, saw the goose and saw three girls all attached to it, stuck, unable to leave. And he just put it under his arm and carried on like nothing was weird about that.

Okay so apparently they were obliged to run after him continually. Now left, now right, just as he was inclined to go. In the middle of the fields the parson met them and when he saw the procession he said, For shame, you good-for-nothing girls.

Why are you running across the field after this young man? Is that seemly? At the same time he seized the youngest by the hand in order to pull her away. But as soon as he touched her he likewise stuck fast and was himself obliged to run behind. So now this Himmler or whatever his name is with the goose under his arm one girl stuck to the goose, another girl stuck to that girl and then another girl stuck to that girl and now this man stuck to the little girl and they're all running behind him.

Okay we're all caught up good okay. Before long the sexton came by and saw his master the parson running behind three girls. He was astonished at this and called out, Hi your reverence, wither away so quickly.

Do not forget that we have a christening today. And running after him he took him by the sleeve. You see where this is going don't you? Yeah but was also held fast to it.

So he stuck to him in other words. Whilst the five were trotting thus one behind the other, two labourers came out with their hoes from the fields. The parson called out to them and begged that they would set him and the sexton free.

But they had scarcely touched the sexton when they were also stuck to them. And now there were seven of them running behind Dumling and the goose. Soon afterwards he came to a city where a king ruled who had a daughter who was so serious that no one could make her laugh.

So he had put forth a decree that whatever or whosoever should be able to make her laugh should marry her. When Dumling heard this he went with his goose and all her train before the king's daughter. And as soon as she saw the seven people running on and on, one behind the other, she began to laugh quite loudly.

And as if she would never leave off. You can imagine it'd be very funny to see. Yeah I reckon very funny, very funny thing to do.

Can you imagine seeing that? Like you know a kid or whatever with a goose and then the people all stuck to each other running behind them and well you know what's happening. You've been listening but it's just it's a funny visual isn't it? It would be funny. I mean yeah I think so.

So she began to laugh and laugh and laugh. Thereupon Dumling asked to have her for his wife and the wedding was celebrated. After the king's death, Dumling inherited the kingdom and lived a long time contentedly with his wife.

They don't say anything about how they separated the people from the golden goose unless they all lived together. They didn't say anything about what happened to the goose. A lot of missing ends really I find with that story but I mean originally I thought when I saw the golden goose I thought it was going to be you know the goose that lays the golden eggs.

That's what I thought it was going to be. And then when they started chopping down the trees and stuff I thought oh it's you know there's a giant up there and stuff but I was wrong. Never mind.

So that's the end of that story. Now go to sleep.