The Four Clever Brothers

Four lads, four trades, a princess, a lairy dragon and fortunes to be made

‘Lads,’ said a poor man to his four sons, ‘I’ve got nothing to give you; you’ll have to go out into the wide world and try your luck. Start by learning some trade or another, and see how you can get on.’ So the four brothers took up their walking-sticks, put what few bits they had on their shoulders, said ta-ra to their Dad, and went all out at the gate together.

When they’d gone a fair way they came to a crossroads, each road leading to a different country. The eldest said, ‘let’s split up here; but four years today come back to this spot and we’ll meet up again, and in the meantime we’ll do our best and see how we get on.’

So each brother went his way; and as the eldest was pushing on a man met him, and asked him where he was going, and what he wanted. ‘I am going to try my luck in the world, and hopefully begin by learning some art or trade,’ he answered. ‘Then,’ said the man, ‘come with me, and I will teach you to become the sneakiest thief that ever was.’ ‘No, mate’ said the other, ‘thanks all the same but that’s not an honest living, and what kind of career can it be if it inevitably leads to the gallows?’ ‘Nah!’ said the man, ‘you don’t have to worry about the gallows; I’ll only teach you to steal what‘ll be fair game: I don’t meddle with nothing but what’s scarce or no one else care’s about, and where there’s no chance of getting caught.’ So the young lad agreed to follow his trade, and he soon showed such aptitude, that nothing could escape him once he’d set his mind on it.

The second brother also met a chap, who, when he found out about his quest, asked him what craft he meant to follow. ‘Not sure yet,’ he said. ‘Then come with me, lad and be a star-gazer. It’s a proper job, for nothing can be hidden from you, once you understand the stars.’ The plan seemed watertight, and he soon became such a skilful star-gazer, that when he’d served his time, and wanted to leave, his master gave him a spyglass, and said, ‘With this you can see everything that’s going on in the sky and on earth, and nothing can be hidden from you.’

The third brother met a huntsman, who took him with him, and taught him the hunting business so well, that he became very slick in the craft of the woods; and when he left, his master he gave him a bow, and said, ‘Whatever you shoot at with this bow you’ll be sure to hit.’

The youngest brother, likewise, met a man who asked him what he wished to do. ‘How do you fancy,’ said he, ‘being a tailor?’ ‘You are joking?’ said the young man; ‘sit cross-legged from morning to night, working backwards and forwards with a needle and goose, it’s not me that.’ ‘Oh No!’ answered the man, ‘that’s not my sort of tailoring; come with me, and you will learn quite another kind of craft from that.’ To be honest, even though he’d set his face against it, he had no plan B so shrugged his shoulders and became a tailor. And when he left, his master gave him a needle, and said, ‘Look after that. You can sew anything with it, whether soft as an egg or as hard as steel; and the joint will be so fine, that you’ll not see any seam.’

After the space of four years, at the time they’d agreed on, the four brothers met at the four cross-roads; and having said their helloes, set off towards their father’s home, where they told him everything that had happened to them, and how each of them had learned their trade.

Then, one day, as they were sitting in front of the house under a very high tree, the father said, ‘OK then lads, let’s see what you’ve all learned.’ So he looked up, and said to the second son, ‘At the top of that tree there is a chaffinch’s nest; tell me how many eggs there are in it.’ The star-gazer took his glass, looked up, and said, ‘Five.’ ‘Now,’ said the father to the eldest son, ‘take away the eggs without letting the bird that’s sitting on them and hatching them know what you’re up to.’ So the cunning thief climbed up the tree, and brought the five eggs to his father from under the bird; and it never saw or felt what he’d done, but kept sitting blithely on, whistling one of the old tunes. Then the father took the eggs, and put one on each corner of the table, and the fifth in the middle, and said to the huntsman, ‘Cut all the eggs in two pieces with one shot.’ The huntsman took up his bow, and at one shot struck all the five eggs as his father wished.

‘Now its your turn,’ he said to the young tailor; ‘sew the eggs and the young birds in them together again, so neatly that the shot won’t have hurt them.’ Then the tailor took his needle, and sewed the eggs as he was told; and when he’d finished, the thief took them back to the nest, and put them under the bird who was taking the opportunity for a brief snooze. Then she carried on sitting, and hatched them: and in a few days they crawled out, and had only a little red streak across their necks, where the tailor had sewn them together.

‘Well done, lads!’ said the old man; ‘you’ve made good use of your time, and learnt something worth the knowing; but for the life of me I can’t pick a winner. Never mind, a day will come when you’ll be called on to use your skills to make a difference and I know you’ll be ready!’

Not long after this there was a great commotion in the country; for the king’s daughter had been carried off by a mighty dragon, and the king mourned over the loss day and night, and made it known that whoever brought her back to him should have her for a wife. Then the four brothers said to each other, ‘Big chance for us, this; let us see what we can do.’ And they agreed to see whether they could not set the princess free. ‘I’ll soon find out where she is,’ said the star-gazer, as he looked through his spyglass; and he soon cried out, ‘I see her miles away, sitting on a rock in the sea, and the dragon’s close by, guarding her.’ Then he went to the king, and asked for a ship for himself and his brothers; and they sailed together over the sea, till they came to the right place.

There they found the princess sitting, just as the star-gazer had said, on the rock; and the dragon was lying asleep, with his head upon her lap. ‘I daren’t shoot at him,’ said the huntsman, ‘for fear I’d kill the beautiful young lady too.’ ‘Then I will try my skill,’ said the thief, and he went and stole her away from under the dragon, so quietly and gently that the beast was oblivious and went on snoring.

Then away they hastened with her full of joy in their boat towards the ship; but soon up came the dragon roaring behind them through the air; in a filthy mood, for he’d woken up and missed the princess. But when he got over the boat, and wanted to pounce upon them and carry off the princess, the huntsman took up his bow and shot him straight through the heart so that he fell down dead.

They still weren’t safe; for he was such a great beast that in his fall he overturned the boat, and they had to swim in the open sea on a few planks. So the tailor, took his needle, and with a few large stitches put some of the planks together; and then he sat down upon these, and sailed about and gathered up all pieces of the boat; and then he tacked them together so quickly, that the boat was soon ready, and then they reached the ship and got home safe.

When they had brought the princess home to her Mum and Dad, there was great rejoicing; and he said to the four brothers, ‘One of you shall marry her, but you must settle amongst yourselves which it is to be.’ Not helpful.

Then there was a big quarrel between them; and the star-gazer said, ‘If I’d not found the princess out, all your skill would have been useless; so she ought to be mine.’ ‘Your seeing her would have been of no use,’ said the thief, ‘if I’d not whisked her out from under the dragon’s nose; therefore she should be mine by rights.’ ‘No way, she’s mine,’ said the huntsman; ‘for if I’d not killed the dragon, he would, after all, have torn you lot and the princess into pieces.’ ‘And if I’d not sewn the boat together again,’ said the tailor, ‘you’d all have been drowned, therefore she is mine and the rest of you should think yourselves lucky you’re still here to argue the toss.’ Then the princess put in a word, and said, ‘Each of you is right; but if I’m honest I don’t want any of you.’ So the King said, ‘the best way is for none of you to have her: truth is, there is somebody she likes a great deal better (even though the King wasn’t that keen on her). But to make up for your loss, I’ll give each of you, as a reward for his skill, half a kingdom.’

So the brothers agreed that this plan would be much better than either quarrelling or marrying a lady who didn’t fancy them. And the king then gave to each half a kingdom, as he had promised; and they lived very happily the rest of their days, and took good care of their Dad; and somebody took better care of the young lady, and she never let either the dragon or one of the craftsmen anywhere near her again.