Once upon a time in a little village, there lived a man and his wife with three sons. The two elder ones were clever and smart, but the youngest, though kind-hearted, was a bit of a fool. Everyone called him a Simpleton, made him run errands and laughed at him.
One day, the man sent his eldest son to get some wood from the forest. He set off with an axe, bread and juice that his mother gave him.
As he started to work, a little old man with grey hair came along and said, “I’m very hungry and thirsty. Could you please give me a bit of bread and some juice to drink, young man?”
“Certainly not!” replied the young fellow, “There’s barely enough for me. Go away!” He went back to chop down the tree as the old man walked away. But within a few minutes, the axe slipped and struck him sharply on his leg. So, he limped back home groaning with pain and dragging the axe.
The next day, the man sent his second son. His wife gave him bread and apple juice too. He began to work in the forest.
In a while, the little man appeared and begged for some food. But he too brushed him off rudely. The little old man went away silently. But soon, the axe slipped and cut the young boy’s arm badly. Howling with the pain, the boy ran home.
So on the third day the man had to send off Simpleton. His mother packed the bread and apple juice for him too. “Be sure to bring the wood today! And do be careful!” said the man as Simpleton set off.
Once again, the little old man arrived and requested for food. But Simpleton, unlike his brothers, said, “There’s very little, sir. But you are welcome to share it!”
He opened his bag and sat down with the old man under a tree, happily chatting with him while they shared lunch. The old man was very happy.
When they had finished eating, the old man said, “You’re a good-hearted fellow, Simpleton. I’ll bless you with good luck. Go to that tree,” he said, pointing to a dried-up tree. “Chop it down and you’ll find something valuable in its roots.” The little man waved and went off into the forest.
Simpleton chopped down the tree. There at the base of the tree sat an extraordinary goose with the feathers of pure gold! Simpleton was fascinated and gently picked it up.
He decided to return to his home. The goose was heavy, so he walked along slowly till he stopped at an inn to rest on the way.
After eating his fill, he fell asleep, putting the goose carefully on the dresser. Everyone at the inn had been looking curiously at the golden goose, including the inn-keeper’s three daughters.
When Simpleton was fast asleep, the eldest daughter crept into his room to get a few golden feathers. She clutched at the feathers, but couldn’t pull her hand away. “Oh, dear! I’m stuck!” she thought. Indeed, she was stuck to the goose.
In a little while, the second sister sneaked in with the same idea. She too grabbed a handful of feathers and found herself stuck!
The third sister was there soon. The other two whispered a warning. But heedlessly, the youngest one tried to pull out some feathers and soon found herself also stuck to the goose!
At dawn, Simpleton arose, picked up his goose and walked out of the inn, ignoring the three girls who were dragged along behind him. The vicar, on his way to church, saw the girls apparently chasing Simpleton. “What a shame!” he thought.
Scolding, he reached out to the youngest one to pull them away. But he too found himself stuck. And there he was going along down the street.
A farmer seeing them going past ran after them, calling the vicar. But the vicar did not stop, so the farmer ran up to him to bring him back. But as he caught the vicar’s sleeve, he too was stuck.
Seeing a couple of farm hands working in the field, the farmer shouted to them for help. They came running and, sure enough, found themselves stuck too! There was Simpleton clutching his goose, with three girls, the vicar, a farmer and two farm hands going along down the road.
As they passed the King’s palace, the Princess saw them from the window. She was a very serious young girl who never smiled. The King had promised her hand in marriage to anyone who made her smile. The sight of Simpleton trailing seven people was so funny that the Princess began to smile and then she was laughing as she had never laughed.
The king was called and he came running to find her in fits of laughter. Between the giggles, she pointed to the window and he saw the strange sight. He too could not stop laughing. Then he remembered his promise and sent for the young man.
When Simpleton came in, the others were released from the spell. The King did not like the idea of his daughter marrying a foolish fellow. So he gave him a difficult task. “Find a man who can drink all the wine in my cellar, and I’ll let you marry the Princess,” he said.
Simpleton knew the little old man in the forest. So off he went and found him sitting on a tree-stump. The man came along willingly and drank all the wine in the cellar.
The King then asked Simpleton to fetch a man to eat a mountain of bread! Once again, the little old man came and ate up the bread. The King was troubled, but he gave Simpleton one more task.
“Get me a ship that can run on water as well as on land,” he ordered. He thought, “This is an impossible task! He won’t be able to do it, so I can get rid of him and just give him some gifts!”
But the little old man gave Simpleton a ship on wheels! It could sail on the seas and move on land too! The King realized that Simpleton was a better man than he had thought. So there was a royal wedding, and soon Simpleton would be King, And a wise one too!
