151

The Three Lazy Ones

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A king had three sons whom he loved equally well, and he did not know which of them to appoint as king following his own death.

When the time came for him to die he called them to his bed and said, "Dear children, I have thought of something that I will reveal to you. The one of you is the laziest shall become king after me."

The oldest one said, "Father, then the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that whenever I lie down to sleep, and a drop falls into my eyes, I will not even close them so that I can fall asleep."

The second one said, "Father, the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself, I would rather let my heels burn up than to pull my legs back."

The third one said, "Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so lazy that if I were going to be hanged and already had the rope around my neck, and someone put into my hand a sharp knife with which to cut the rope, I would let myself be hanged rather than to lift my hand up to the rope."

When the father heard this he said, "You have taken it the farthest and shall be king."

• Source: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Die drei Faulen, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales), final edition (Berlin, 1857), no. 151.

• The Grimms' source: Schimpf und Ernst (1522, chapter 261) by Johann Pauli (ca. 1455 - ca. 1530).

• Translated by D. L. Ashliman. © 2001.

• This tale was included in the first edition (vol. 2, 1815, no. 65) of the Grimms' Kinder- und Hausmärchen.

• Aarne-Thompson type 1950.

• English translators have translated the Grimms' title Die drei Faulen variously, for example:
  1. The Three Sluggards (Margaret Hunt, 1884).

  2. The Three Lazy Sons (Francis P. Magoun, Jr., and Alexander H. Krappe, 1960).

  3. The Three Lazy Sons (Ralph Manheim, 1977).

  4. The Three Lazy Sons (Jack Zipes, 1987).

  5. The Three Lazy Ones (D. L. Ashliman, 2001).

Related links

• The Grimms' collection includes one additional tale of type 1950: The Twelve Lazy Servants (no. 151*).

• The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales).

• The Grimm Brothers' Home Page.

• D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.

Revised December 2, 2001.