Fairy tale story - The Old Man and his Grandson

   This Fairy tale story is collected from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, translated by - Margaret Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884)

The Old man and his Grandson

 The Old man and his Grandson

  A Fairy tale story by - The Brothers Grimm

   Once there was a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears became weak of hearing, his knees shacked. When he sat at the table he could hardly hold the spoon and spilt upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this. So the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in a pottery bowl, and not even enough of it. The old man used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. 

   Once, the old man's trembling hands could not hold the bowl and the pottery bowl fell to the ground and broke it. His son’s young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they gave him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.

   They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. "What are you doing there?" asked his father. "I am making a little trough," answered the child, "for father and mother to eat out of when I am big." 

   Then the man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and hence- forth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything. 





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