The Grave Mound facts for kids
"The Grave Mound" (German: Der Grabhügel) is a German fairy tale collected by the famous Brothers Grimm. It's story number 195 in their collection, known as KHM 195. This tale is a great example of a story where good actions are rewarded and bad ones are punished.
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The Grave Mound: A Grimm Fairy Tale
This story is about a rich farmer who learns an important lesson, a poor neighbor who keeps his word, and a clever soldier who helps save a soul. It shows how kindness and honesty can win against greed and even the Devil himself!
The Rich Farmer's Change of Heart
One day, a very rich farmer was looking at his fields and gardens. He suddenly heard a voice asking if he had helped the poor and hungry people around him. The farmer realized with a shock that he had always turned away his poor neighbors. He had only cared about making himself richer. His knees felt weak as he understood how wrong he had been.
Just then, someone knocked at his door. It was his poor neighbor, who had gathered all his courage to ask for four measures of corn to feed his hungry children. He expected to be turned away, as usual. But the rich farmer, now changed, gave him eight measures of corn! He only asked for one thing in return: when he died, the poor man must guard his grave for three nights.
A Promise Kept
Three days later, the rich farmer suddenly died. No one in the village was sad, because he had been so selfish. He was buried, and the poor man kept his promise. Every night, he watched over the grave, returning to his simple home at sunrise.
Facing the Devil
On the third and final night, a soldier who had fought in many battles and was now retired, stopped to rest by the churchyard. He saw the poor man watching the grave and offered to join him.
At midnight, they heard a loud, shrill whistling sound. This was the Devil arriving, ready to claim the rich man's soul! The two men bravely stood their ground and refused to let him take the soul. The Devil threatened them, but when that didn't work, he tried a trick. He offered them gold if they would leave their watch.
The Clever Soldier's Trick
The soldier, being very clever, told the Devil that if he filled his boot with gold, they would leave. The Devil went to get the gold. While he was gone, the soldier quickly took off his boot and cut a large hole in the sole.
The Devil returned with a big bag of gold and poured it into the boot. But because of the hole, the gold just fell through the bottom and into a hole in the ground! The soldier pretended to be annoyed, saying the Devil was being stingy. So, the Devil had to go and get more gold. Again, he poured it into the boot, but it still wouldn't fill up. Just as the Devil was about to grab the boot from the soldier's hand, the sun began to rise. The Devil shrieked loudly and fled!
Sharing the Reward
The poor man and the soldier had saved the rich man's soul. They then talked about how to share the gold. The soldier said his share should be given to the poor. He went with the poor man to his small house and lived there for the rest of his days.
