WARNING: This post is dangerously lengthy and may cause insanity; read at your own risk
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was is a story from the Brothers' Grimm collection that most people have never heard of, yet it brings up a question that has haunted mankind for ages: What is fear?
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Scenes from The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was |
Sara, last week you asked me what my favorite fairy tale is. To be honest, I have many a fairy tale that I adore, including Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Hansel and Gretel. Even so, this story (with an insanely long title that I'm not going to bother typing), while not as popular, is also among my favorites. The tale's protagonist is a young, naive boy who, to put it nicely, wasn't the brightest guy around and as a result, he could never seem to please his stern, overbearing father. To make matters worse, his older brother was both intelligent and responsible; the father made sure the boy knew this and often compared him to his older brother. Though, something set the boy apart from his brother, and everyone else for that matter. While others would shudder at frightening tales told around the fire at night, he never understood why; they never made him shudder. And whenever his father asked his elder brother to fetch something at night along a route that passed a graveyard or some other creepy place, the brother would refuse, saying, "I will not go, for just the thought of it makes me shudder." This, the boy did not understand.
One day, the father asked his youngest son what he was going to learn to be able to earn his keep and support himself, pointing out that his older brother worked and paid for himself. The boy, eager to prove himself, replied that he would learn how to shudder. Both the boy's father and his brother saw this as laughable; learning to shudder wouldn't pay for anything. When the father told this to the local sexton, the sexton claims that he could teach the boy to shudder. So the sexton taught the boy how to ring the church bells and one night, while the boy was ringing the bells, the sexton arrived dressed as a ghost, intending to scare the boy. But unafraid, the boy asked what business the ghost had with him. When the sexton didn't answer, the boy grew frustrated and pushed the sexton down the stairs, injuring him.
The father, both furious and horrified, decided to kick his son out of the house and pretty much disown him (he won't win Father of the Year Award anytime soon...). Even so, the boy continued his quest to learn how to shudder. One day, a man heard the boy complaining, "If I could but shudder," and advised the boy to spend a night sitting beneath a tree where seven men were hanged and left hanging. The boy complied and since it was quite cold outside, he built a fire. He noticed the men's bodies swaying in the biting wind, and thinking that they may be cold, he took them down and set them near the fire to get warm. The men's clothes soon caught fire, and infuriated with their carelessness, the boy hung the men back in the tree.
Frustrated with his defeat, the boy continued on his way. Soon after, the boy met a waggoner who he began traveling with. They come to an inn one evening, where the inn-keeper told of a haunted castle that would be perfect for helping the boy learn how to shudder. If he could stay in the castle for three nights, not only would he learn how to shudder, but he'd gain vast riches and the hand of the king's daughter.
But The inn-keeper warned the boy that many men had tried, yet none had returned. Unfazed, the boy went to the king to ask permission. The king agreed and told him that he could bring three inanimate objects with him into the castle. The boy decided to bring a fire, a turning lathe, and a cutting-board with a knife. The first night, the boy heard voices complaining about how cold they were. The boy replied that they were foolish for not warming themselves by the fire with him. Suddenly, out of the shadows came two large, black cats. Seeing the boy, calm as ever, the cats asked him to a game of cards. The boy agreed, but asked to see the cats' paws first. Seeing their long claws, he tells the two cats that he'll cut them so the cats would be able to hold the cards. The boy then seized the cats, tied them to the cutting-board and struck them with the knife, killing them. Soon after, dozens of black cats and black dogs appeared, making horrible noises and attempting to put the boy's fire out. Fed up, the boy began to slay the creatures. Some of them fled, the rest he killed. A little while later, a bed appeared. Exhausted, the boy decided to lay in the bed and get some sleep. But without warning, the bed began walking around the castle, as if it had grown legs. Again unafraid, the boy urged it to go faster, which it did. It then flipped upside down on top of the boy, but he simply pushed the bed off of him and then proceeded to go to sleep.
The second night, half a man tumbled down the chimney. The boy wasn't startled and said that the other half of the man was needed. In reply, the other half of the man fell down the chimney. The two halves joined and formed a grotesque looking man. More men began falling down the chimney, and they brought with them nine dead men's legs and two skulls which they started playing nine-pins with (it's pretty much modern-day bowling). Seeing that the skulls weren't completely round, the boy took them and put them into the lathe until they were round. He then joined the men and played nine-pins with them until midnight, when all the men promptly disappeared. With the fun over, the boy decided to simply go to sleep.
The third and final night, six men appeared carrying a coffin. He peeked into the coffin and saw that it was his cousin who had died recently. He touched the dead man's face and felt that it was cold, so he took him to the fire to try and warm him up. When that failed, the boy took the dead man into the bed and lied down next to him to warm him. It worked and as the dead man grew warmer, he began to move. Suddenly, the dead man got up and yelled at the boy that he would now strangle him. Angry at the dead man's lack of gratitude, the boy stuffed him back into the coffin and slammed it shut.
Another man arrived, this one old with a long, white beard. The old man told the boy that he would soon learn to shudder because he was going to kill him. The boy began to argue, telling the old man that he was just as strong as he was. The old man, confident that he was stronger, told the boy that if he was stronger he'd let him go without killing him. The boy agreed, and the old man seized an axe and with a single blow, slammed an anvil into the ground. The boy, axe in hand, approached another anvil. The old man came near the anvil to watch, but unbeknownst to him, his long beard was on the anvil. Taking advantage of the situation, the boy swung the axe, splitting the anvil in two, and the old man's beard was caught in the anvil. The boy then seized an iron rod and beat the old man until he told him he knew where he could find the castle's riches. The boy let him go and the man showed him where the vast amount of gold and jewels were kept. When midnight struck, the old man disappeared and the boy fell asleep.
Having survived three nights, the king gave the boy all the riches in the castle and arranged a wedding for him and his daughter. Even so, the boy was still unhappy because he still had not learned to shudder. Seeing her new husband's unhappiness, the king's daughter decided to help. While he was sleeping, she took a bucket full of cold water and fish and dumped it on him. The boy awoke immediately, shuddering. He exclaimed, "I have finally learned how to shudder!"
And that concludes one of my favorite fairy tales. I adore the protagonist, because he's an innocent fool, and I always tend to cheer for the underdog. He's quite different than the male that usual shows up in fairy tales; he's not exactly Prince Charming if you know what I mean. And the ending gets me every time! He wasn't looking to be afraid; the idiot literally just wanted to shudder. Anyways, if you're reading this, congratulations on making it through my longest post ever! You survived! I hoped you enjoyed it for at least three paragraphs.
~Sam
The second night, half a man tumbled down the chimney. The boy wasn't startled and said that the other half of the man was needed. In reply, the other half of the man fell down the chimney. The two halves joined and formed a grotesque looking man. More men began falling down the chimney, and they brought with them nine dead men's legs and two skulls which they started playing nine-pins with (it's pretty much modern-day bowling). Seeing that the skulls weren't completely round, the boy took them and put them into the lathe until they were round. He then joined the men and played nine-pins with them until midnight, when all the men promptly disappeared. With the fun over, the boy decided to simply go to sleep.
The third and final night, six men appeared carrying a coffin. He peeked into the coffin and saw that it was his cousin who had died recently. He touched the dead man's face and felt that it was cold, so he took him to the fire to try and warm him up. When that failed, the boy took the dead man into the bed and lied down next to him to warm him. It worked and as the dead man grew warmer, he began to move. Suddenly, the dead man got up and yelled at the boy that he would now strangle him. Angry at the dead man's lack of gratitude, the boy stuffed him back into the coffin and slammed it shut.
Another man arrived, this one old with a long, white beard. The old man told the boy that he would soon learn to shudder because he was going to kill him. The boy began to argue, telling the old man that he was just as strong as he was. The old man, confident that he was stronger, told the boy that if he was stronger he'd let him go without killing him. The boy agreed, and the old man seized an axe and with a single blow, slammed an anvil into the ground. The boy, axe in hand, approached another anvil. The old man came near the anvil to watch, but unbeknownst to him, his long beard was on the anvil. Taking advantage of the situation, the boy swung the axe, splitting the anvil in two, and the old man's beard was caught in the anvil. The boy then seized an iron rod and beat the old man until he told him he knew where he could find the castle's riches. The boy let him go and the man showed him where the vast amount of gold and jewels were kept. When midnight struck, the old man disappeared and the boy fell asleep.
Having survived three nights, the king gave the boy all the riches in the castle and arranged a wedding for him and his daughter. Even so, the boy was still unhappy because he still had not learned to shudder. Seeing her new husband's unhappiness, the king's daughter decided to help. While he was sleeping, she took a bucket full of cold water and fish and dumped it on him. The boy awoke immediately, shuddering. He exclaimed, "I have finally learned how to shudder!"
And that concludes one of my favorite fairy tales. I adore the protagonist, because he's an innocent fool, and I always tend to cheer for the underdog. He's quite different than the male that usual shows up in fairy tales; he's not exactly Prince Charming if you know what I mean. And the ending gets me every time! He wasn't looking to be afraid; the idiot literally just wanted to shudder. Anyways, if you're reading this, congratulations on making it through my longest post ever! You survived! I hoped you enjoyed it for at least three paragraphs.
~Sam
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