One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes facts for kids
"One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes" is a classic German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, who gathered many well-known stories. This tale is number 130 in their collection. It's also known as "Little One-eye, Little Two-eyes, and Little Three-eyes" and was included in The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.
This story is a bit unusual for a fairy tale. Usually, the hero is the youngest child or the only child. But in this story, the main character is the middle sister of three.
Contents
The Story of the Sisters
A long time ago, there was a woman with three daughters. Each daughter had a different number of eyes. The oldest daughter had just one eye, right in the middle of her forehead. The second daughter had two eyes, just like most people. The youngest daughter had three eyes: two on the sides of her head and one in the middle.
The mother and her sisters were not kind to Little Two Eyes. They made fun of her because she looked "normal." They treated her very badly and only gave her their leftover food to eat.
The Magic Goat
One day, Little Two Eyes was sent to the field to look after the goat. She was very sad and started to cry because she was so hungry. Suddenly, a wise woman appeared next to her. The woman asked why she was crying. Little Two Eyes explained how her family treated her.
The wise woman then told her a secret. She said that if Little Two Eyes spoke special words to the goat, a magical table would appear. The words were:
Little goat, bleat.
Little table, appear
A beautiful table, full of delicious food, would then stand before her. Little Two Eyes could eat as much as she wanted! When she was full, she just had to say:
Little goat, bleat.
Little table, away
And the table would disappear. The wise woman then left. Little Two Eyes tried the words, and to her surprise, the table appeared! She ate until she was full and then made the table vanish. When she went home, she didn't touch the scraps her sisters had left.
Sisters' Jealousy
The next day, Little Two Eyes went to the field again and left her scraps untouched. Her sisters noticed this and told their mother. The mother decided to send Little One Eye with Little Two Eyes to see what was happening.
Little Two Eyes guessed why her sister was there. So, she sang a special song to make Little One Eye's single eye fall asleep. Once Little One Eye was asleep, Little Two Eyes used the magic words to summon the table and ate her fill. When they returned home, Little One Eye said she fell asleep because of the fresh air.
The mother didn't believe her, so the next day she sent Little Three Eyes to watch. Little Two Eyes tried to sing her song again. But this time, she only sang a song that made two of Little Three Eyes' eyes fall asleep. Little Three Eyes was clever. She pretended all three eyes were asleep, but she kept her third eye open. When Little Two Eyes thought her sister was sleeping, she used the magic words and ate from the table. Little Three Eyes watched everything.
When they got home, Little Three Eyes told her mother the secret. The mother was furious that Little Two Eyes was eating better than them. In her anger, she took a knife and killed the goat.
The Golden Tree
Little Two Eyes was heartbroken and cried in the meadow. The wise woman appeared again and asked why she was weeping. Little Two Eyes explained what had happened to the goat. The wise woman told her to bury the goat's heart, saying it would bring her good luck.
Little Two Eyes asked her sisters if she could have the goat's heart. They laughed and said yes. That evening, Little Two Eyes buried the heart near the door, just as the wise woman had said. The next morning, a beautiful tree had grown there! It had shiny silver leaves and fruit made of gold.
The mother and sisters tried to pick the golden fruit. Little One Eye tried, but the branches moved away from her hands. Little Three Eyes tried, thinking her three eyes would help, but she also failed. Even the mother tried, but she couldn't pick a single piece of fruit.
Little Two Eyes offered to try. Her sisters made fun of her, saying she wouldn't succeed with only two eyes. But to their surprise, Little Two Eyes easily picked a whole apronful of the golden fruit! Her mother took the fruit from her. Instead of being kinder, her mother and sisters became even more jealous and mean.
A New Life
One day, a Knight rode by and saw the amazing tree. He stopped to admire it and asked who owned it. He said that whoever gave him a twig from the tree could have anything they wished for.
Little One Eye and Little Three Eyes quickly claimed the tree was theirs. They tried to break off a twig for the Knight, but just like before, the branches moved away. The Knight was puzzled, saying it was strange that the owners couldn't pick from their own tree.
Little Two Eyes, who had been hidden under an empty barrel by her sisters, quietly rolled two golden apples to the Knight's feet. When the Knight asked where the apples came from, the sisters had to admit they had another sister. They said they had hidden her because she had two eyes, like normal people.
The Knight insisted on seeing Little Two Eyes. She came out happily and told the Knight that the tree was hers. She easily climbed the tree and broke off a small branch with its silver leaves and golden fruit. She gave it to the Knight.
The Knight then asked Little Two Eyes what she wished for. She asked to be taken away from her cruel mother and sisters. So, the Knight lifted Little Two Eyes onto his horse and took her to his father's castle. There, she was treated with kindness, given beautiful clothes, and plenty of food. They fell in love and eventually got married.
The Tree Follows
The two sisters thought they were lucky to keep the beautiful tree after Little Two Eyes left. But the very next morning, they woke up to a surprise: the tree had vanished! At the same time, Little Two Eyes looked out her window at the castle and saw, with joy, that the golden tree had grown right outside her new home.
Years later, two poor women came to the castle begging for food. Little Two Eyes recognized them as her sisters. She welcomed them into the castle and treated them kindly. Her sisters were very sorry for how they had treated her in the past.
Adaptations
This classic fairy tale has inspired other works:
- The American poet Anne Sexton wrote a poem called "One-eye, Two-eyes, Three-eyes." It's part of her book Transformations (1971), where she retells sixteen of the Grimm's Fairy Tales.
- Lee Drapp wrote an adapted version of the story in 2016. It was called "The Story of One Eye, Two Eye, and Three Eye" and featured illustrations by Saraid Claxton.
