--- title: "The Brave Little Tailor" story_id: "b51a9041-21c1-4887-90f1-5638f591b70e" text_id: "5d9beb07-097e-41af-8117-924e97908f1e" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 1 part_count: 1 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-brave-little-tailor" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-brave-little-tailor" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # The Brave Little Tailor > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-brave-little-tailor) Version: Modernized In this German tale from the Brothers Grimm, a tailor kills seven flies with one stroke of a piece of cloth. Proud of himself, he embroiders “Seven at one stroke!” on a belt and sets out to see the world. People who read the words think he has killed seven men. The king promises him marriage to his daughter and half a kingdom if he can kill two dangerous giants. The little tailor will need all his wits to live up to his boast. **Content warning:** This tale contains threats of death and fighting that ends in the violent death of giants. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/e68c5c6e-9ff6-45e1-8db0-a5652c5b1c6c) One summer’s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window. He was in good spirits and sewed with all his might. Then a peasant woman came down the street crying, “Good jams, cheap! Good jams, cheap!” This sounded pleasant to the tailor. He stretched his delicate head out of the window and called, “Come up here, dear woman; you can sell your goods here.” The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy basket, and he made her unpack all the pots for him. He inspected every pot, lifted each one and put his nose to it. At last he said, “The jam seems good to me. Weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it comes to a quarter of a pound, that does not matter.” The woman had hoped to make a good sale. She gave him what he wanted, but went away quite angry and grumbling. “Now, may God bless this jam for me,” cried the little tailor, “and give me health and strength!” He took the bread out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and spread the jam over it. “This won’t taste bitter,” he said, “but I will just finish the jacket before I take a bite.” He laid the bread beside him and sewed on. In his joy, he made bigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime the smell of sweet jam rose to the wall, where crowds of flies were sitting. It attracted them, and they swarmed down onto it. “Hola! Who invited you?” said the little tailor. He drove the uninvited guests away. The flies, however, understood no German. They would not be driven away, but kept coming back in greater and greater numbers. At last the little tailor lost all patience. He took a bit of cloth from the hole under his work-table. “Just wait! I’ll give it to you!” he said, and struck them mercilessly with it. When he lifted the cloth and counted, no fewer than seven flies lay before him, dead, with their legs stretched out. “Are you that sort of fellow?” he said to himself, unable to stop admiring his own bravery. “The whole town shall know of this!” The little tailor hurried to cut himself a belt, stitched it and embroidered on it in large letters, “Seven at one stroke!” “What, the town!” he continued, “The whole world shall hear of it!” His heart wagged with joy like a lamb’s tail. The tailor put on the belt and decided to go out into the world. He thought his workshop was too small for his valour. Before leaving, he searched the house for something to take with him. But he found nothing but an old cheese and put it in his pocket. In front of the door he noticed a bird that had got caught in the thicket. It had to go into his pocket with the cheese. Now he boldly took to the road. Being light and nimble, he did not feel tired. The road led him up a mountain. At the summit sat a powerful giant, comfortably looking around him. The little tailor bravely went up to him and said, “Good day, comrade, so you are sitting here looking out over the wide world! I am on my way into it to try my luck. Would you like to come with me?” The giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said, “You ragamuffin! You miserable creature!” “Oh, indeed?” answered the little tailor. He unbuttoned his coat and showed the giant his belt. “Read that and see what kind of man I am!” The giant read, “Seven at one stroke,” and thought the tailor had killed seven men. He began to feel a little respect for the tiny fellow. Still, he wanted to test him first. He took a stone in his hand and squeezed it until water dripped out. “Do the same,” said the giant, “if you have the strength!” “Is that all?” said the tailor. “That is child’s play for us!” He put his hand in his pocket, took out the soft cheese and squeezed it until liquid ran out. “Well,” he said, “that was a little better, wasn’t it?” The giant did not know what to say, and could not believe the little man had done it. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so high that the eye could barely follow it. “Now, little mite of a man, do the same.” “Well thrown,” said the tailor, “but the stone came back down to earth. I will throw one that will never come back at all.” He put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted to be free, rose, flew away and did not come back. “How does that shot please you, comrade?” asked the tailor. “You can certainly throw,” said the giant, “but now we will see whether you can carry anything properly.” He took the little tailor to a mighty oak that had been cut down and lay on the ground, and said, “If you are strong enough, help me to carry the tree out of the forest.” “Gladly,” answered the little man. “Take the trunk on your shoulders, and I will lift the branches and twigs. After all, they are the heaviest.” The giant took the trunk on his shoulder, but the tailor sat on a branch. Unable to look round, the giant had to carry the whole tree and the little tailor into the bargain. Behind him, the tailor was merry and happy, whistling the song, “Three tailors rode forth from the gate,” as if carrying the tree were child’s play. After dragging the heavy burden part of the way, the giant could go no further. He cried, “Listen, I shall have to drop the tree!” The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms as if he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, “You are such a huge fellow, yet you cannot even carry the tree!” They went on together. As they passed a cherry-tree, the giant took hold of its top, where the ripest fruit hung. He bent it down, put it into the tailor’s hand and told him to eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree. When the giant let go, it sprang back and flung the tailor into the air. When he landed unhurt, the giant said, “What is this? Haven't you the strength to hold a flimsy twig?” “There is no lack of strength,” answered the little tailor. “Do you think that could be any trouble to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there in the thicket. Jump as I did, if you can.” The giant tried, but could not get over the tree. He was left hanging in the branches, so once again the tailor kept the upper hand. The giant said, “If you are such a brave fellow, come with me into our cavern and spend the night with us.” The little tailor was willing, and followed him. When they entered the cave, other giants were sitting by the fire. Each held a roasted sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought, “It is much more spacious here than in my workshop.” The giant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it and sleep. The bed, however, was too big for the little tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. At midnight, the giant thought the little tailor was sound asleep. He got up, took a great iron bar and cut through the bed with one blow. He thought he had dealt the little grasshopper his final blow. At the first light of dawn, the giants went into the forest, having quite forgotten the little tailor. Suddenly he walked up to them, merry and bold. The giants were terrified. Afraid he would strike them all dead, they ran away in a great hurry. The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose. After walking for a long time, he reached the courtyard of a royal palace. Feeling weary, he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. While he lay there, people came and inspected him from all sides. They read on his belt, “Seven at one stroke.” “Ah,” they said, “What is this great warrior doing here in peacetime? He must be a mighty lord.” They went to tell the King about him. In their opinion, if war broke out, he would be an important and useful man who must not be allowed to leave. The advice pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offer him military service when he awoke. The ambassador stood beside the sleeper. He waited until the tailor stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, then made him the offer. “That is exactly why I have come here,” the tailor replied. “I am ready to enter the King’s service.” So he was honourably received, and a special dwelling was set aside for him. The soldiers, however, were hostile to the little tailor, and wished him a thousand miles away. “How will this end?” they said to one another. “If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand against him.” So they made a decision. They went together to the King and begged to be released from his service. “We are not prepared,” said they, “to stay with a man who kills seven at one stroke.” The King was sorry to lose all his faithful servants for the sake of one man. He wished he had never set eyes on the tailor and would gladly have got rid of him. But he did not dare dismiss him, for he feared the tailor would kill him and all his people, and place himself on the royal throne. He thought about it for a long time and at last came up with a plan. He sent word to the little tailor: since he was such a great warrior, the King had a request for him. Two giants lived in a forest in his country. They robbed, murdered, laid waste and set fires. No one could go near them without risking death. If the tailor conquered and killed these two giants, he could marry the King's only daughter and receive half the kingdom as her dowry. A hundred horsemen would also go with him to help. “That would indeed be a fine thing for a man like me!” thought the little tailor. “One is not offered a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one’s life!” “Oh, yes,” he replied, “I will soon defeat the giants, and do not need the hundred horsemen’s help. A man who can hit seven with one blow has no need to fear two.” The little tailor set out, and the hundred horsemen followed him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his followers, “Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the giants.” Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right and left. After a while he spotted both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, and snored so that the branches waved up and down. The little tailor did not waste time. He filled two pockets with stones and climbed the tree with them. Half-way up, he slid down along a branch until he sat just above the sleepers. Then he dropped one stone after another onto one giant’s chest. For a long time the giant felt nothing, but at last he awoke, pushed his comrade, and said, “Why are you hitting me?” “You must be dreaming,” said the other, “I am not hitting you.” They lay down to sleep again. Then the tailor threw a stone down onto the second giant. “What is the meaning of this?” cried the other. “Why are you throwing things at me?” “I am not throwing things at you,” answered the first, growling. They argued for a while. But they were weary, so they let the matter rest and closed their eyes once more. The little tailor began his game again, picked out the biggest stone, and threw it with all his might onto the first giant’s chest. “That is too bad!” he cried. He sprang up like a madman and pushed his companion against the tree until it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin. They grew so furious that they tore up trees and beat each other with them until they both fell dead on the ground at the same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. “It is a lucky thing,” said he, “that they did not tear up the tree on which I was sitting, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel; but we tailors are nimble.” He drew his sword and stabbed each giant twice in the chest. Then he went out to the horsemen and said, “The work is done! I have given both of them their finishing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in desperation and defended themselves with them. But none of that is any use against a man like me, who can kill seven at one blow.” “But are you not wounded?” asked the horsemen. “You need not worry about that,” answered the tailor. “They have not bent one hair of mine.” The horsemen would not believe him and rode into the forest. There they found the dead giants, stained with blood, with the torn-up trees lying all around. The little tailor demanded the promised reward from the King. But the King regretted his promise and once again thought about how to get rid of the hero. “Before you marry my daughter and receive half my kingdom,” he said, “you must perform one more heroic deed. A unicorn roams the forest and does great harm, and you must catch it first.” “I fear one unicorn still less than two giants. Seven at one blow—that is my kind of thing.” He took a rope and an axe with him, went into the forest, and again told those who were sent with him to wait outside. He had to search for a long time. The unicorn soon came towards him. It rushed straight at the tailor as if to spear him with its horn without a moment’s delay. “Softly, softly! It can’t be done as quickly as that,” he said. He stood still, waited until the animal was quite close, then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn crashed into the tree with all its strength. Its horn stuck so firmly in the trunk that it could not pull it out. It was caught. “Now, I have got the bird,” said the tailor. He came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck. Then he chopped the horn free of the tree with his axe. When all was ready, he led the beast away and took it to the King. The King still would not give him the promised reward, and made a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a wild boar that caused great havoc in the forest, and the huntsmen were to help him. “Willingly,” said the tailor, “that is child’s play!” He did not take the huntsmen into the forest with him. They were very pleased: the boar had attacked them fiercely several times before, and they had no wish to wait in ambush for it. When the boar saw the tailor, it charged at him with a foaming mouth and sharp tusks, about to knock him down. But the nimble hero sprang into a nearby chapel, straight up to the window and out again in one leap. The boar ran in after him. But the tailor ran round outside and shut the door behind it. The raging beast was far too heavy and awkward to leap out of the window, so it was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen over so they could see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however, went to the King. Now, whether he liked it or not, the King had to keep his promise. He gave the tailor his daughter in marriage and half his kingdom. Had he known that the man before him was no great warrior, but a little tailor, it would have pained him even more. The wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, and a tailor became a king. After some time the young Queen heard her husband say in his dreams at night, “Boy, make me the short, fitted jacket and patch the trousers, or else I will hit you over the ears with the yardstick.” Then she discovered what kind of family the young lord had been born into. The next morning she told her father she had been wronged. She begged him to help her get rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The King comforted her and said, “Leave your bedroom door open tonight. My servants will wait outside. When he is asleep, they will go in, tie him up and put him aboard a ship to take him far away.” The woman was satisfied with this. But the King’s armour-bearer, the attendant who carried his armour, had heard everything. He was friendly with the young lord and told him the whole plot. “I'll put a stop to that plan,” said the little tailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time. When she thought he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the door and lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, “Boy, make me the jacket and patch me the trousers, or I will hit you over the ears with the yardstick. I struck down seven with one blow. I killed two giants, brought away a unicorn and caught a wild boar. Am I to fear those standing outside the room?” When the men heard the tailor speak like this, they were overcome with dread. They ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them. None dared try anything else against him. So the little tailor was a king and remained one to the end of his life. ## Modernization notes - him, and rode into the forest; there they found the giants swimming in their blood, and all round about lay the torn-up trees. → him and rode into the forest. There they found the dead giants, stained with blood, with the torn-up trees lying all around.: The giants are still dead and blood remains visible. The graphic image of their bodies swimming in blood is softened for children in the modernized version. - to me to be good, so weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of no consequence. → good to me. Weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it comes to a quarter of a pound, that does not matter.: Four ounces of jam equal a quarter of a pound. The tailor makes his tiny order sound generous, although both amounts are the same. ## Presented text (with modernization) © OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved. ## Original text Grimm’s Household Tales, with the Author’s Notes, volume 1, 1884, George Bell and Sons, London - author: Jacob Grimm - author: Wilhelm Grimm - translator: Margaret Hunt ## Illustration [John R. Gruelle](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/e68c5c6e-9ff6-45e1-8db0-a5652c5b1c6c) — Grimm’s Fairy Tales, 1914, Cupples & Leon Company, New York ## Reading music Songs Without Words, Op. 67 — No. 2 Felix Mendelssohn Takashi Sato (piano) [CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) ## Quiz ### Which small sewing tool protects a finger? - A spool of thread - A button - A thimble (Correct answer) A thimble is a small sewing tool that protects a finger. It helps the wearer push a needle through fabric without being pricked. [Museum of English Rural Life — Thimble](https://merl.reading.ac.uk/collections/objects/thimble/) ### How many wings does a fly use to fly? - Two (Correct answer) - Four - Six Flies have just two flight wings. Their rear pair has become tiny balancing organs called halteres. [Australian Museum — What do flies look like?](https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-an-expert/what-do-flies-look-like/) ### Which surprising body part can a house fly taste with? - Its wingtips - Its feet (Correct answer) - Its back House flies can taste with their feet. Sensory organs on their legs tell them about the food they land on. [University of Michigan BioKIDS — House fly](https://biokids.umich.edu/critters/Musca_domestica/) ### What were some supposed unicorn horns really? - Deer antlers - Shark fins - Narwhal teeth (Correct answer) Some supposed unicorn horns were narwhal teeth. These long, spiralling tusks reached Europe through trade from the Arctic. [Natural History Museum — Narwhals](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/narwhals-mysterious-unicorns-of-the-sea.html) ### Which animal material could be used as sewing thread? - Teeth - Sinew (Correct answer) - Hooves Animal sinew can be sewing material. An Inuit sewing kit preserved at the Smithsonian contains sinew alongside needles and thimbles. [Smithsonian Institution — Inuit sewing kit](https://www.si.edu/object/womans-sewing-kit-including-skin-scrapers-ulu-knife-sinew-needles-and-thimble%3ANMAI_279445) ## Other languages - [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/the-brave-little-tailor?format=markdown) - [简体中文](https://www.openclassics.org/zh/stories/the-brave-little-tailor?format=markdown) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)