The Three Army Surgeons facts for kids
"The Three Army Surgeons" (also known as Die drei Feldscherer) is a classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. It tells the strange story of three traveling army surgeons who try to impress an innkeeper with their amazing skills. They decide to perform surgery on themselves, planning to put their body parts back in the morning.
What Happens in the Story?
One surgeon cuts off his own hand. Another takes out his heart. The third surgeon removes his own eyes. They place these body parts carefully in a cupboard for the night.
During the night, a girl who works at the inn has a secret visitor, a soldier. She gives him some food from the cupboard where the organs are stored. While they are busy, a cat sneaks in and takes all the organs!
When the girl sees the organs are gone, she tells the soldier. He quickly goes to the gallows (a place where criminals were punished). There, he finds a hand that was left behind and brings it to her. He then gets a heart from a pig and eyes from a cat.
The Strange Aftermath
In the morning, the doctors wake up. They use a special salve (a healing ointment) they carry to re-attach the new body parts. They think everything is fine and continue their journey.
But soon, strange things start to happen. The doctor with the new eyes cannot see properly. He needs his friends to guide him. The doctor with the pig's heart starts acting like a pig, rooting around in the dirt. When they reach another inn, the third doctor, who has the thief's hand, finds he cannot stop stealing things.
They realize something is very wrong. They travel back to the first inn. The girl who worked there sees them coming and quickly runs away. The surgeons are very angry. They threaten to burn down the inn unless the innkeeper pays them back for their lost organs. He pays them enough money so they can retire. However, the surgeons still wish they had their original body parts back.
