One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by thewindow; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Then camea peasant woman down the street crying: 'Good jams, cheap! Good jams,cheap!' This rang pleasantly in the tailor's ears; he stretched hisdelicate head out of the window, and called: 'Come up here, dear woman;here you will get rid of your goods.' The woman came up the three stepsto the tailor with her heavy basket, and he made her unpack all the potsfor him. He inspected each one, lifted it up, put his nose to it, andat length said: 'The jam seems to me to be good, so weigh me out fourounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of noconsequence.' The woman who had hoped to find a good sale, gave himwhat he desired, but went away quite angry and grumbling. 'Now, this jamshall be blessed by God,' cried the little tailor, 'and give me healthand strength'; so he brought the bread out of the cupboard, cut himselfa piece right across the loaf and spread the jam over it. 'This won'ttaste bitter,' said he, 'but I will just finish the jacket before Itake a bite.' He laid the bread near him, sewed on, and in his joy, madebigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime the smell of the sweet jamrose to where the flies were sitting in great numbers, and they wereattracted and descended on it in hosts. 'Hi! who invited you?' said thelittle tailor, and drove the unbidden guests away. The flies, however,who understood no German, would not be turned away, but came backagain in ever-increasing companies. The little tailor at last lost allpatience, and drew a piece of cloth from the hole under his work-table,and saying: 'Wait, and I will give it to you,' struck it mercilessly onthem. When he drew it away and counted, there lay before him no fewerthan seven, dead and with legs stretched out. 'Are you a fellow of thatsort?' said he, and could not help admiring his own bravery. 'The wholetown shall know of this!' And the little tailor hastened to cut himselfa girdle, stitched it, and embroidered on it in large letters: 'Seven atone stroke!' 'What, the town!' he continued, 'the whole world shall hearof it!' and his heart wagged with joy like a lamb's tail. The tailorput on the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world, because hethought his workshop was too small for his valour. Before he went away,he sought about in the house to see if there was anything which he couldtake with him; however, he found nothing but an old cheese, and thathe put in his pocket. In front of the door he observed a bird whichhad caught itself in the thicket. It had to go into his pocket with thecheese. Now he took to the road boldly, and as he was light and nimble,he felt no fatigue. The road led him up a mountain, and when he hadreached the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant lookingpeacefully about him. The little tailor went bravely up, spoke to him,and said: 'Good day, comrade, so you are sitting there overlooking thewide-spread world! I am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck.Have you any inclination to go with me?' The giant looked contemptuouslyat the tailor, and said: 'You ragamuffin! You miserable creature!'

'Oh, indeed?' answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat, andshowed the giant the girdle, 'there may you read what kind of a man Iam!' The giant read: 'Seven at one stroke,' and thought that they hadbeen men whom the tailor had killed, and began to feel a little respectfor the tiny fellow. Nevertheless, he wished to try him first, and tooka stone in his hand and squeezed it together so that water dropped outof it. 'Do that likewise,' said the giant, 'if you have strength.' 'Isthat all?' said the tailor, 'that is child's play with us!' and put hishand into his pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it untilthe liquid ran out of it. 'Faith,' said he, 'that was a little better,wasn't it?' The giant did not know what to say, and could not believe itof the little man. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so highthat the eye could scarcely follow it. 'Now, little mite of a man, dothat likewise,' 'Well thrown,' said the tailor, 'but after all the stonecame down to earth again; I will throw you one which shall never comeback at all,' and he put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird,and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted with its liberty,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 if you are able to carry anything properly.' Hetook the little tailor to a mighty oak tree which lay there felled onthe ground, and said: 'If you are strong enough, help me to carry thetree out of the forest.' 'Readily,' answered the little man; 'take youthe trunk on your shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and twigs;after all, they are the heaviest.' The giant took the trunk on hisshoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the giant, whocould not look round, had to carry away the whole tree, and the littletailor into the bargain: he behind, was quite merry and happy, andwhistled the song: 'Three tailors rode forth from the gate,' as ifcarrying the tree were child's play. The giant, after he had dragged theheavy burden part of the way, could go no further, and cried: 'Harkyou, I shall have to let the tree fall!' The tailor sprang nimbly down,seized the tree with both arms as if he had been carrying it, and saidto the giant: 'You are such a great fellow, and yet cannot even carrythe tree!'

They went on together, and as they passed a cherry-tree, the giant laidhold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was hanging, bent itdown, gave it into the tailor's hand, and bade him eat. But the littletailor was much too weak to hold the tree, and when the giant let it go,it sprang back again, and the tailor was tossed into the air with it.When he had fallen down again without injury, the giant said: 'What isthis? Have you not strength enough to hold the weak twig?' 'There is nolack of strength,' answered the little tailor. 'Do you think that couldbe anything to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? I leapt overthe tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there in the thicket.Jump as I did, if you can do it.' The giant made the attempt but hecould not get over the tree, and remained hanging in the branches, sothat in this also the tailor kept the upper hand.

The giant said: 'If you are such a valiant fellow, come with me into ourcavern and spend the night with us.' The little tailor was willing, andfollowed him. When they went into the cave, other giants were sittingthere by the fire, and each of them had a roasted sheep in his hand andwas eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought: 'It is muchmore spacious here than in my workshop.' The giant showed him a bed, andsaid he was to lie down in it and sleep. The bed, however, was toobig for the little tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept intoa corner. When it was midnight, and the giant thought that the littletailor was lying in a sound sleep, he got up, took a great iron bar,cut through the bed with one blow, and thought he had finished off thegrasshopper for good. With the earliest dawn the giants went into theforest, and had quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once hewalked up to them quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified,they were afraid that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in agreat hurry.

The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose.After he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard of a royalpalace, and as he felt weary, he lay down on the grass and fell asleep.Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected him on all sides, andread on his girdle: 'Seven at one stroke.' 'Ah!' said they, 'what doesthe great warrior want here in the midst of peace? He must be a mightylord.' They went and announced him to the king, and gave it as theiropinion that if war should break out, this would be a weighty and usefulman who ought on no account to be allowed to depart. The counsel pleasedthe king, and he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offerhim military service when he awoke. The ambassador remained standing bythe sleeper, waited until he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes,and then conveyed to him this proposal. 'For this very reason haveI come here,' the tailor replied, 'I am ready to enter the king'sservice.' He was therefore honourably received, and a special dwellingwas assigned him.

The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wishedhim a thousand miles away. 'What is to be the end of this?' they saidamong themselves. 'If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him,seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand againsthim.' They came therefore to a decision, betook themselves in a body tothe king, and begged for their dismissal. 'We are not prepared,' saidthey, 'to stay with a man who kills seven at one stroke.' The king wassorry that for the sake of one he should lose all his faithful servants,wished that he had never set eyes on the tailor, and would willinglyhave been rid of him again. But he did not venture to give him hisdismissal, for he dreaded lest he should strike him and all his peopledead, and place himself on the royal throne. He thought about it for along time, and at last found good counsel. He sent to the little tailorand caused him to be informed that as he was a great warrior, he had onerequest to make to him. In a forest of his country lived two giants,who caused great mischief with their robbing, murdering, ravaging,and burning, and no one could approach them without putting himself indanger of death. If the tailor conquered and killed these two giants, hewould give him his only daughter to wife, and half of his kingdom as adowry, likewise one hundred horsemen should go with him to assist him.'That would indeed be a fine thing for a man like me!' thought thelittle tailor. 'One is not offered a beautiful princess and half akingdom every day of one's life!' 'Oh, yes,' he replied, 'I will soonsubdue the giants, and do not require the help of the hundred horsemento do it; he who can hit seven with one blow has no need to be afraid oftwo.'

The little tailor went forth, 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.' Thenhe bounded into the forest and looked about right and left. After awhile he perceived both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, andsnored so that the branches waved up and down. The little tailor, notidle, gathered two pocketsful of stones, and with these climbed up thetree. When he was halfway up, he slipped down by a branch, until he satjust above the sleepers, and then let one stone after another fall onthe breast of one of the giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing,but at last he awoke, pushed his comrade, and said: 'Why are youknocking me?' 'You must be dreaming,' said the other, 'I am not knockingyou.' They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then the tailorthrew a stone down on the second. 'What is the meaning of this?' criedthe other 'Why are you pelting me?' 'I am not pelting you,' answeredthe first, growling. They disputed about it for a time, but as they wereweary they let the matter rest, and their eyes closed once more. Thelittle tailor began his game again, picked out the biggest stone, andthrew it with all his might on the breast of the first giant. 'Thatis too bad!' cried he, and sprang up like a madman, and pushed hiscompanion against the tree until it shook. The other paid him back inthe same coin, and they got into such a rage that they tore up trees andbelaboured each other so long, that at last they both fell down dead onthe ground at the same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. 'It isa lucky thing,' said he, 'that they did not tear up the tree on whichI was sitting, or I should have had to sprint on to another like asquirrel; but we tailors are nimble.' He drew out his sword and gaveeach of them a couple of thrusts in the breast, and then went out to thehorsemen and said: 'The work is done; I have finished both of themoff, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in their sore need, anddefended themselves with them, but all that is to no purpose when a manlike myself comes, who can kill seven at one blow.' 'But are you notwounded?' asked the horsemen. 'You need not concern yourself aboutthat,' answered the tailor, 'they have not bent one hair of mine.' Thehorsemen would not believe him, and rode into the forest; there theyfound the giants swimming in their blood, and all round about lay thetorn-up trees.

The little tailor demanded of the king the promised reward; he, however,repented of his promise, and again bethought himself how he could getrid of the hero. 'Before you receive my daughter, and the half of mykingdom,' said he to him, 'you must perform one more heroic deed. Inthe forest roams a unicorn which does great harm, and you must catchit first.' 'I fear one unicorn still less than two giants. Seven at oneblow, is my kind of affair.' He took a rope and an axe with him, wentforth into the forest, and again bade those who were sent with him towait outside. He had not long to seek. The unicorn soon came towardshim, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if it would gore him with itshorn without more ado. 'Softly, softly; it can't be done as quickly asthat,' said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quiteclose, and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran againstthe tree with all its strength, and stuck its horn so fast in the trunkthat it had not the strength enough to draw it out again, and thus itwas caught. 'Now, I have got the bird,' said the tailor, and came outfrom behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and then with hisaxe he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all was ready he led thebeast away and took it to the king.

The king still would not give him the promised reward, and made a thirddemand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a wild boar thatmade great havoc in the forest, and the huntsmen should give him theirhelp. 'Willingly,' said the tailor, 'that is child's play!' He did nottake the huntsmen with him into the forest, and they were well pleasedthat he did not, for the wild boar had several times received them insuch a manner that they had no inclination to lie in wait for him. Whenthe boar perceived the tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth andwhetted tusks, and was about to throw him to the ground, but the herofled and sprang into a chapel which was near and up to the window atonce, and in one bound out again. The boar ran after him, but the tailorran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the ragingbeast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the window,was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen thither that theymight see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however, went tothe king, who was now, whether he liked it or not, obliged to keep hispromise, and gave his daughter and the half of his kingdom. Had he knownthat it was no warlike hero, but a little tailor who was standing beforehim, it would have gone to his heart still more than it did. The weddingwas held with great magnificence and small joy, and out of a tailor aking was made.

After some time the young queen heard her husband say in his dreams atnight: 'Boy, make me the doublet, and patch the pantaloons, or else Iwill rap the yard-measure over your ears.' Then she discovered in whatstate of life the young lord had been born, and next morning complainedof her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her to get rid ofher husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The king comforted herand said: 'Leave your bedroom door open this night, and my servantsshall stand outside, and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bindhim, and take him on board a ship which shall carry him into the wideworld.' The woman was satisfied with this; but the king's armour-bearer,who had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him ofthe whole plot. 'I'll put a screw into that business,' said the littletailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, andwhen she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the door,and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pretending tobe asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice: 'Boy, make me the doubletand patch me the pantaloons, or I will rap the yard-measure over yourears. I smote seven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away oneunicorn, and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear those who are standingoutside the room.' When these men heard the tailor speaking thus, theywere overcome by a great dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman werebehind them, and none of them would venture anything further againsthim. So the little tailor was and remained a king to the end of hislife.