The Tailor in Heaven facts for kids
The Tailor in Heaven is a classic German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, who gathered many well-known stories. This particular tale is number 35 in their collection. It is also known as a type 800 story in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which is a way experts classify different kinds of folk tales.
Contents
What Happens in the Story?
This fairy tale tells the story of a tailor who tries to get into heaven.
The Tailor's Arrival
One day, God decided to take a walk in the beautiful heavenly garden. He took everyone with him except for Saint Peter, who was left to guard the gate. Soon after, a tailor arrived at the gate, hoping to enter heaven.
Saint Peter was hesitant to let the tailor in. He knew the tailor had sometimes stolen small pieces of cloth from his customers. Also, God had told him not to let anyone new in while he was away. The tailor begged Saint Peter, promising to be good. Saint Peter felt a little sorry for him and allowed him to sit quietly in a corner, waiting for God to return.
The Golden Chair
However, the tailor did not stay in his corner for long. He started to wander around heaven. He soon found a very special chair. This chair allowed anyone sitting in it to see everything happening on Earth. The tailor, curious, sat down in the chair.
He looked down and saw an old woman doing her laundry. As she worked, she secretly stole two veils. The tailor became very angry when he saw this. Without thinking, he picked up a heavy golden stool and threw it down towards Earth at the woman.
God's Judgment
Soon after, God returned from his walk. He saw the tailor sitting in his special chair and asked what had happened. God explained that if the tailor was so quick to judge and punish, heaven would soon be empty. This is because the tailor would have thrown everything down to Earth in anger. Because of his harsh actions, God then threw the tailor out of heaven.
The Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm, Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, were German academics. They were famous for collecting and publishing folk tales. They helped preserve many stories that might have been lost. Their work includes well-known tales like "Cinderella," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Little Red-Cap."
