Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version Read Online Free PDF Page A

strange about it,’ said the cat. ‘It’s no odder than Crumb Thief, which is what each of your godchildren is called.’
    Not long afterwards the cat felt a yearning for the fat again, and said to the mouse, ‘My dear friend, can I ask a favour? I’ve been asked to be godfather to another kitten, and since he has a white ring around his throat, it would be wrong to refuse. Can you keep house alone once more? I’ll be back this evening.’
    The good mouse said yes, she didn’t mind at all, and wished the kitten well. The cat set off at once, and crept along behind the town wall to the church, where he slunk inside and licked up half the pot of fat.
    ‘Nothing tastes as good as what you eat by yourself,’ he thought.
    When he got home the mouse said, ‘And what did they call the child?’
    ‘Half Gone,’ said the cat.
    ‘
Half Gone?
What sort of name is that? I’ve never heard of such a thing. I’m sure it’s not in the almanac of saints.’
    The fat had tasted so rich and unctuous that the cat’s mouth was soon watering again.
    ‘All good things come in threes,’ he said to the mouse. ‘What do you think? I’ve been asked to be godfather yet again. This time the child is totally black – there’s not a white hair on his body apart from his paws. That’s very rare, you know, it only happens once every few years. You will let me go, won’t you?’
    ‘Top Off? Half Gone?’ said the mouse. ‘Such odd names they have in your family! They make me wonder, they really do.’
    ‘Oh, fiddle-de-dee,’ said the cat. ‘You sit indoors from morning till night twiddling your tail, and all kinds of nonsense comes into your head. You ought to get out in the fresh air.’
    The mouse wasn’t sure about that, but while the cat was away she worked hard to clean their house and make everything neat and tidy.
    Meanwhile, the cat was in the church, busily licking out the pot of fat. He had to scoop the very last of it out with his paws, and then he sat there admiring his reflection in the bottom of the pot.
    ‘Emptying the pot is such sweet sorrow,’ he thought.
    It was late at night by the time he waddled home. As soon as he came in, the mouse asked what name had been given the third child.
    ‘I suppose you won’t like this one either,’ said the cat. ‘They called him All Gone.’
    ‘All Gone!’ cried the mouse. ‘Dear oh dear, I’m worried about that, honestly I am. I’ve never seen that name in print. What can it mean?’
    Then she wrapped her tail around herself and went to sleep.
    After that no one asked the cat to be godfather. And when the winter arrived, and there was no food at all to be found outside, the mouse thought of their pot of delicious fat safely hidden under the altar in the church.
    She said, ‘Come on, Cat, let’s go and find that pot of fat we put away. Think how good it’ll taste.’
    ‘Yes,’ said the cat. ‘You’ll enjoy it as much as sticking that dainty little tongue of yours out of the window.’
    So they set out. And when they got to the church, the pot was still there, to be sure, but of course it was empty.
    ‘Oh! Oh! Oh!’ said the mouse. ‘I’m beginning to see a pattern here! Now I know what sort of a friend you are. You were no godfather! You came here and guzzled it all up. First top off—’
    ‘Be careful!’ said the cat.
    ‘Then half gone—’
    ‘I warn you!’
    ‘Then all—’
    ‘One more word and I’ll eat you too!’
    ‘—gone!’ said the mouse, but it was too late: the cat sprang on her and gobbled her up in a moment.
    Well, what else did you expect? That’s just the sort of thing that happens in this world.
    ***
    Tale type: ATU 15, ‘The Theft of Food by Playing Godfather’
    Source: a story told to the Grimm brothers by Gretchen Wild
    Similar stories: Italo Calvino: ‘Mrs Fox and Mr Wolf’ (
Italian Folktales
); Joel Chandler Harris: ‘Mr Rabbit Nibbles Up the Butter’ (
The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
)
    A simple and very common