---
title: "Donkey Cabbages"
story_id: "3c556d22-220e-4528-90ab-5609529d2c7d"
text_id: "6f4624e2-a19a-4b98-b0cd-8b1ef94311ee"
language: "en"
version: "modern"
part: 1
part_count: 1
url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/donkey-cabbages"
recommended_version: "modern"
recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/donkey-cabbages"
web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics"
---

# Donkey Cabbages

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Version: Modernized

In this German story collected by the Brothers Grimm, a huntsman receives two magical gifts after helping an old woman. A meeting at a castle soon draws him into deception and enchantment.

**Content warning:** A bird is killed and its heart is swallowed. A young woman is beaten, and women turned into donkeys are mistreated; one of them dies.

Once upon a time there was a young huntsman who went into the forest to wait for animals to hunt. He was cheerful and full of life, and as he was going there, using a leaf to whistle, an ugly old woman came up, who spoke to him and said, “Good-day, dear huntsman, truly you are merry and contented, but I am suffering from hunger and thirst, please give me a little help.” The huntsman felt sorry for the poor old creature, felt in his pocket, and gave her what he could afford. He was then about to go further, but the old woman stopped him and said, “Listen, dear huntsman, to what I tell you; I will make you a present in return for your kindness. Go on your way now, but in a little while you will come to a tree where nine birds are tugging at a cloak with their claws. Take your gun and shoot into the midst of them. They will let the cloak fall down to you, but one of the birds will be hurt, and will drop down dead. Carry away the cloak: it is a wishing-cloak; when you throw it over your shoulders, you only have to wish to be in a certain place, and you will be there in the blink of an eye. Take out the heart of the dead bird and swallow it whole, and every morning early, when you get up, you will find a gold piece under your pillow.” The huntsman thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself, “Those are fine things that she has promised me, if only it all comes true.” And indeed, when he had walked about a hundred paces, he heard in the branches above him such a screaming and twittering that he looked up and saw there a crowd of birds who were tearing a piece of cloth about with their beaks and claws, and tugging and fighting as if each wanted to have it all to himself. “Well,” said the huntsman, “this is wonderful, it has really happened just as the old woman foretold!” and he took the gun from his shoulder, aimed and fired right into the midst of them, so that the feathers flew about. The birds instantly took to flight with loud outcries, but one dropped down dead, and the cloak fell at the same time. Then the huntsman did as the old woman had directed him, took the bird’s heart and swallowed it, and took the cloak home with him.

Next morning, when he awoke, he remembered the promise, and he wanted to see whether it had come true. When he lifted up the pillow, the gold piece shone in his eyes, and next day he found another, and so it went on, every time he got up. He gathered together a heap of gold, but at last he thought, “What use is all my gold if I stay at home? I will set out and see the world.”

He then said goodbye to his parents and strapped on his hunting bag and gun, and went out into the world. One day he travelled through a dense forest, and when he came to the end of it, in the plain before him stood a fine castle. An old woman was standing with a wonderfully beautiful young woman, looking out of one of the windows. The old woman, however, was a witch and said to the girl, “There’s a man coming out of the forest, who has a wonderful treasure in his body. We must steal it from him, my dear daughter; it is more suitable for us than for him. He has a bird’s heart inside him, which brings him a gold piece under his pillow every morning.” She told her what she was to do to get it, and what part she had to play, and finally threatened her, and said with angry eyes, “And if you don’t do as I say, you’ll be sorry.” Now when the huntsman came nearer he saw the girl, and said to himself, “I have travelled about for such a long time, I will take a rest for once, and enter that beautiful castle. I have certainly money enough.” Nevertheless, the real reason was that he had caught sight of the pretty girl.

He entered the house, and was well received and politely welcomed. Before long he was so much in love with the young witch that he no longer thought of anything else, and only saw things as she saw them, and did what she desired. The old woman then said, “Now we must have the bird’s heart. He will never miss it.” She prepared a drink, and when it was ready, poured it into a cup and gave it to the girl, who was to present it to the huntsman. She did so, saying, “Now, my dearest, drink to my health.” So he took the cup, and when he had swallowed the drink, he vomited up the bird’s heart. The girl had to take it away secretly and swallow it herself, for the old woman insisted. From then on, the gold appeared under the girl’s pillow instead of his, and the old woman collected it every morning. But he was so blinded by love and so deceived that he thought only of spending time with the girl.

Then the old witch said, “We have the bird’s heart, but we must also take the wishing-cloak away from him.” The girl answered, “Let us leave him that; he has lost his wealth.” The old woman was angry and said, “Such a mantle is a wonderful thing, and is seldom to be found in this world. I must and will have it!” She gave the girl several blows, and said that if she did not obey, things would go badly for her. So she obeyed the old woman, stood at the window and looked out over the distant countryside, as if she were very sorrowful. The huntsman asked, “Why do you stand there so sorrowfully?” “Ah, my beloved,” was her answer, “over there lies the Garnet Mountain, where the precious stones grow. I long for them so much that when I think of them, I feel quite sad, but who can get them? Only the birds; they fly and can reach them, but a man never.” “Is that the only thing making you unhappy?” said the huntsman. “I’ll soon take that worry off your mind.” With that he drew her under his mantle, wished himself on the Garnet Mountain, and in the blink of an eye they were sitting on it together. Precious stones were glistening on every side so that it was a joy to see them, and together they gathered the finest and costliest of them. But the old woman had used her magic to make the huntsman’s eyelids grow heavy. He said to the girl, “We will sit down and rest awhile, I am so tired that I can no longer stand on my feet.” Then they sat down, and he laid his head in her lap, and fell asleep. When he was asleep, she unfastened the mantle from his shoulders, and wrapped herself in it, picked up the garnets and stones, and wished herself back at home with them.

When the huntsman woke, he saw that his sweetheart had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild mountain. He said, “Oh, what treachery there is in the world!” and sat down there worried and sad, not knowing what to do. But the mountain belonged to some wild and monstrous giants who lived there, and he had not sat long before he saw three of them coming towards him, so he lay down pretending to be fast asleep. Then the giants came up, and the first kicked him with his foot and said, “What sort of an earth-worm is lying curled up here?” The second said, “Step upon him and kill him.” But the third said, “Oh yes, that would really be worth the effort! Just let him live, he cannot remain here; and when he climbs higher, toward the summit of the mountain, the clouds will seize him and carry him away.” So saying they passed by. But the huntsman had listened carefully to what they said, and as soon as they were gone, he rose and climbed up to the summit of the mountain. After he had sat there a while, a cloud floated towards him and swept him up. It carried him around the sky for a long time, then sank lower and settled into a large cabbage garden surrounded by walls. He landed softly among the cabbages and vegetables.



![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/0030fbdd-e7cb-4ff5-be6f-9c938adbf104)



Then the huntsman looked about him and said, “If only I had something to eat! I am so hungry, and I’ll only get hungrier; but I see here neither apples nor pears, nor any other sort of fruit, everywhere nothing but cabbages,” but at last he thought, “If there’s nothing else, I can eat some of the leaves, they do not taste particularly good, but they will refresh me.” With that he picked himself out a fine head of cabbage, and ate it, but scarcely had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls when he felt very strange and quite different.

Four legs grew on him, a large head and two thick ears, and he saw with horror that he was changed into a donkey. Still as his hunger increased every minute, and as the juicy leaves suited his donkey’s appetite, he went on eating with great appetite. At last he arrived at a different kind of cabbage, but as soon as he had swallowed it, he again felt a change, and returned to his human form.

Then the huntsman lay down and slept off his fatigue. When he awoke next morning, he broke off one head of the bad cabbages and another of the good ones, and thought to himself, “This will help me get back what is mine and punish those who betrayed me.” Then he took the cabbages with him, climbed over the wall, and set out to look for the castle of his sweetheart. After wandering about for a couple of days he was lucky enough to find it again. He dyed his face brown, so that his own mother would not have known him; and begged for shelter: “I am so tired,” said he, “that I can go no further.” The witch asked, “Who are you, my good man, and what is your business?” “I am a King’s messenger, and was sent out to seek the most delicious salad which grows beneath the sun. I was lucky enough to find it and have it with me. But the sun is so hot that the tender cabbage leaves are starting to wilt, and I do not know if I can carry it any further.”

When the old woman heard of the exquisite salad, she was greedy, and said, “My good man, let me just taste this wonderful salad.” “Why not?” answered he, “I have brought two heads with me, and will give you one of them,” and he opened his pouch and handed her the bad cabbage. The witch suspected nothing was wrong, and her mouth watered so for this new dish that she went into the kitchen to prepare it herself. When it was prepared she could not wait until it was set on the table, but took a couple of leaves at once, and put them in her mouth, but hardly had she swallowed them when she lost her human form, and she ran out into the courtyard in the form of a donkey. Presently the maid-servant entered the kitchen, saw the salad standing there ready prepared, and was about to carry it up; but on the way, she wanted to taste it first, as she usually did, and she ate a couple of leaves. The magic took effect at once, and she likewise became a donkey and ran out to the old woman, and the dish of salad fell to the ground. Meantime the messenger sat beside the beautiful girl, and as no one came with the salad and she also was longing for it, she said, “I don’t know what has become of the salad.” The huntsman thought, “The salad must have already taken effect,” and said, “I will go to the kitchen and ask about it.” As he went down he saw the two donkeys running about in the courtyard; the salad, however, was lying on the ground. “All right,” said he, “the two have taken their portion,” and he picked up the other leaves, laid them on the dish, and carried them to the girl. “I’ve brought you this delicious food myself,” said he, “so you won’t have to wait any longer.” Then she ate of it, and was, like the others, immediately deprived of her human form, and ran out into the courtyard in the shape of a donkey.

After the huntsman had washed his face, so that the women he had transformed could recognize him, he went down into the courtyard, and said, “Now you will pay for betraying me,” and tied all three together with one rope, and drove them along until he came to a mill. He knocked at the window, the miller put out his head, and asked what he wanted. “I have three animals I cannot control,” answered he, “which I don’t want to keep any longer. Will you take them in, and feed them and give them room in the stable, and treat them as I tell you, and then I will pay you what you ask.” The miller said, “Why not? But how should I treat them?” The huntsman then said that he was to give three beatings and one meal daily to the old donkey, and that was the witch; one beating and three meals to the younger one, which was the servant-girl; and to the youngest, which was the girl, no beatings and three meals, for he could not bring himself to have the girl beaten. After that he went back into the castle, and found inside everything he needed.

After a couple of days, the miller came to tell him that the old donkey which had received three beatings and only one meal daily was dead; “the two others,” he continued, “are certainly not dead, and are fed three times daily, but they are so sad that they cannot last much longer.” The huntsman was moved to pity, let go of his anger, and told the miller to drive them back again to him. And when they came, he gave them some of the good salad, so that they became human again. The beautiful girl fell on her knees before him, and said, “Ah, my beloved, forgive me for the evil I have done you; my mother drove me to it; it was done against my will, for I love you dearly. Your wishing-cloak hangs in a cupboard, and as for the bird’s-heart I will take a drink to bring it back up.” But he thought otherwise, and said, “Keep it; it is all the same, for I want to marry you.” So the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happily together until their death.

## Modernization notes

- cut open → took: The magical swallowing of the heart remains necessary to the plot; the cutting open of the bird is not described.
- vomiting potion → drink to bring it back up: The magical heart must be returned in this version; no ingredients or practical recipe are given.

## Presented text (with modernization)

© OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved.

## Original text

Grimm’s Household Tales, volume II, 1884, George Bell and Sons, London

- author: Jacob Grimm
- author: Wilhelm Grimm
- translator: Margaret Hunt

## Illustration

[Harry G. Theaker](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/0030fbdd-e7cb-4ff5-be6f-9c938adbf104) — Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Ward, Lock & Co., London

## Reading music

Für Elise, WoO 59  
Ludwig van Beethoven  
Peter Bradley-Fulgoni (piano)  
Peter Hill (recording engineer)  
[CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

## Quiz

### Can a donkey move its ears independently?

- Yes (Correct answer)
- No
- Only one ear moves

Separate ear movements help locate sounds.

[Smithsonian’s National Zoo — Miniature donkey](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/miniature-donkey)

### What is a donkey’s call called?

- A roar
- A bray (Correct answer)
- A croak

Donkeys communicate by braying.

[Smithsonian’s National Zoo — Miniature donkey](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/miniature-donkey)

### What do donkeys mainly eat?

- Fish
- Plants (Correct answer)
- Insects

Donkeys graze on grass and other plants.

[Smithsonian’s National Zoo — Miniature donkey](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/miniature-donkey)

### Where does an east wind come from?

- The west
- The east (Correct answer)
- The north

Winds are named for where they come from.

[Met Office — What is wind and how do we measure it?](https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/what-is-wind-and-how-do-we-measure-it)

### Diamond is a form of which element?

- Carbon (Correct answer)
- Iron
- Silver

Diamond and the graphite in pencils are both forms of carbon. Their atoms are arranged differently, giving them very different properties.

[Royal Society of Chemistry — Carbon](https://periodic-table.rsc.org/element/6/carbon)

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