"Clever Hans" (German "Der gescheite Hans") is a fairy tale collected by the
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
(KHM 32) about a boy who ruins his engagement with a girl through a variety of comedic events. The title is claimed by most people to be ironic. It is
Aarne-Thompson type 1685 and 1696.
Plot summary
A boy named Hans has a conversation with his mother every morning (in the morning conversations he simply is telling her he is going to meet his fiancee Gretel) and evening (in which his mother reprimands him for mishandling a gift from his fiancee). Every morning when Hans meets Gretel he asks her for a gift. In order, she gives him:
*a
needle
*a
knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...
*a young
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
*a
ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
*a
calf
Calf most often refers to:
* Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle.
* Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg
Calf or calves may also refer to:
Biology and animal byproducts
* Veal, meat from calves
* ...
*herself
In each instance, Hans mishandles the gifts. He sticks the needle in some hay but his mother tells him he should have stuck it through his sleeve. So he puts the knife in his sleeve but is told he should have put it in his pocket. He puts the goat in his pocket, thus smothering it, and is told he should have led it by a rope. He tries to lead the ham by a rope, and dogs steal it, his mother telling him he should have carried it on his head (or, in some versions, under his arm). He carries the calf this way but it kicks him until he drops it and it runs away. He is told he should have tied it in the stable. He ties Gretel in the stable and the story ends when he misunderstands his mother's advice ("Cast your adoring eyes at her") and gouges out the eyes of the livestock he owns to throw at Gretel.
The result is a disengagement, portrayed in the final sentence: "And that's how Hans lost his bride."
References
Grimm 032: Clever Hans
{{Brothers Grimm
Grimms' Fairy Tales
Male characters in fairy tales
Child characters in fairy tales
German fairy tales
ATU 1675-1724