There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, andloved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day shewanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So she called allseven to her and said: 'Dear children, I have to go into the forest,be on your guard against the wolf; if he comes in, he will devour youall--skin, hair, and everything. The wretch often disguises himself, butyou will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.' Thekids said: 'Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may goaway without any anxiety.' Then the old one bleated, and went on her waywith an easy mind.

It was not long before someone knocked at the house-door and called:'Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has broughtsomething back with her for each of you.' But the little kids knew thatit was the wolf, by the rough voice. 'We will not open the door,' criedthey, 'you are not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, butyour voice is rough; you are the wolf!' Then the wolf went away to ashopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and madehis voice soft with it. Then he came back, knocked at the door of thehouse, and called: 'Open the door, dear children, your mother is hereand has brought something back with her for each of you.' But the wolfhad laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw themand cried: 'We will not open the door, our mother has not black feetlike you: you are the wolf!' Then the wolf ran to a baker and said: 'Ihave hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me.' And when the bakerhad rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said: 'Strew somewhite meal over my feet for me.' The miller thought to himself: 'Thewolf wants to deceive someone,' and refused; but the wolf said: 'If youwill not do it, I will devour you.' Then the miller was afraid, and madehis paws white for him. Truly, this is the way of mankind.

So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked atit and said: 'Open the door for me, children, your dear little motherhas come home, and has brought every one of you something back from theforest with her.' The little kids cried: 'First show us your paws thatwe may know if you are our dear little mother.' Then he put his pawsin through the window and when the kids saw that they were white, theybelieved that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who shouldcome in but the wolf! They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves.One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into thestove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, thesixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. Butthe wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after theother he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest, who was inthe clock-case, was the only one he did not find. When the wolf hadsatisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under atree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep. Soon afterwardsthe old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! what a sight she sawthere! The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and bencheswere thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quiltsand pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but theywere nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, butno one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voicecried: 'Dear mother, I am in the clock-case.' She took the kid out, andit told her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Thenyou may imagine how she wept over her poor children.

At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her.When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snoredso loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side andsaw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged belly. 'Ah,heavens,' she said, 'is it possible that my poor children whom he hasswallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?' Then the kid had torun home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cutopen the monster's stomach, and hardly had she made one cut, than onelittle kid thrust its head out, and when she had cut farther, all sixsprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had sufferedno injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed themdown whole. What rejoicing there was! They embraced their dear mother,and jumped like a tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said: 'Nowgo and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast'sstomach with them while he is still asleep.' Then the seven kids draggedthe stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into thisstomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in thegreatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never oncestirred.

When the wolf at length had had his fill of sleep, he got on his legs,and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted togo to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, thestones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then criedhe:

'What rumbles and tumbles Against my poor bones? I thought 'twas six kids, But it feels like big stones.'

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water to drink, theheavy stones made him fall in, and he drowned miserably. When the sevenkids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud: 'The wolfis dead! The wolf is dead!' and danced for joy round about the well withtheir mother.