'Dear children,' said a poor man to his four sons, 'I have nothing togive you; you must go out into the wide world and try your luck. Beginby learning some craft or another, and see how you can get on.' So thefour brothers took their walking-sticks in their hands, and their littlebundles on their shoulders, and after bidding their father goodbye, wentall out at the gate together. When they had got on some way they cameto four crossways, each leading to a different country. Then the eldestsaid, 'Here we must part; but this day four years we will come backto this spot, and in the meantime each must try what he can do forhimself.'

So each brother went his way; and as the eldest was hastening on a manmet him, and asked him where he was going, and what he wanted. 'I amgoing to try my luck in the world, and should like to begin by learningsome art or trade,' answered he. 'Then,' said the man, 'go with me, andI will teach you to become the cunningest thief that ever was.' 'No,'said the other, 'that is not an honest calling, and what can one lookto earn by it in the end but the gallows?' 'Oh!' said the man, 'you neednot fear the gallows; for I will only teach you to steal what will befair game: I meddle with nothing but what no one else can get or careanything about, and where no one can find you out.' So the young managreed to follow his trade, and he soon showed himself so clever, thatnothing could escape him that he had once set his mind upon.

The second brother also met a man, who, when he found out what he wassetting out upon, asked him what craft he meant to follow. 'I do notknow yet,' said he. 'Then come with me, and be a star-gazer. It is anoble art, for nothing can be hidden from you, when once you understandthe stars.' The plan pleased him much, and he soon became such a skilfulstar-gazer, that when he had served out his time, and wanted to leavehis master, he gave him a glass, and said, 'With this you can see allthat is passing in the sky and on earth, and nothing can be hidden fromyou.'

The third brother met a huntsman, who took him with him, and taught himso well all that belonged to hunting, that he became very clever in thecraft of the woods; and when he left his master he gave him a bow, andsaid, 'Whatever you shoot at with this bow you will be sure to hit.'

The youngest brother likewise met a man who asked him what he wished todo. 'Would not you like,' said he, 'to be a tailor?' 'Oh, no!' saidthe young man; 'sitting cross-legged from morning to night, workingbackwards and forwards with a needle and goose, will never suit me.''Oh!' answered the man, 'that is not my sort of tailoring; come with me,and you will learn quite another kind of craft from that.' Not knowingwhat better to do, he came into the plan, and learnt tailoring from thebeginning; and when he left his master, he gave him a needle, and said,'You can sew anything with this, be it as soft as an egg or as hard assteel; and the joint will be so fine that no seam will be seen.'

After the space of four years, at the time agreed upon, the fourbrothers met at the four cross-roads; and having welcomed each other,set off towards their father's home, where they told him all that hadhappened to them, and how each had learned some craft.

Then, one day, as they were sitting before the house under a very hightree, the father said, 'I should like to try what each of you can do inthis way.' So he looked up, and said to the second son, 'At the top ofthis tree there is a chaffinch's nest; tell me how many eggs there arein it.' The star-gazer took his glass, looked up, and said, 'Five.''Now,' said the father to the eldest son, 'take away the eggs withoutletting the bird that is sitting upon them and hatching them knowanything of what you are doing.' So the cunning thief climbed up thetree, and brought away to his father the five eggs from under the bird;and it never saw or felt what he was doing, but kept sitting on at itsease. Then the father took the eggs, and put one on each corner of thetable, and the fifth in the middle, and said to the huntsman, 'Cut allthe eggs in two pieces at one shot.' The huntsman took up his bow, andat one shot struck all the five eggs as his father wished.

'Now comes your turn,' said he to the young tailor; 'sew the eggs andthe young birds in them together again, so neatly that the shot shallhave done them no harm.' Then the tailor took his needle, and sewed theeggs as he was told; and when he had done, the thief was sent to takethem back to the nest, and put them under the bird without its knowingit. Then she went on sitting, and hatched them: and in a few days theycrawled out, and had only a little red streak across their necks, wherethe tailor had sewn them together.

'Well done, sons!' said the old man; 'you have made good use of yourtime, and learnt something worth the knowing; but I am sure I do notknow which ought to have the prize. Oh, that a time might soon come foryou to turn your skill to some account!'

Not long after this there was a great bustle in the country; for theking's daughter had been carried off by a mighty dragon, and the kingmourned over his loss day and night, and made it known that whoeverbrought her back to him should have her for a wife. Then the fourbrothers said to each other, 'Here is a chance for us; let us trywhat we can do.' And they agreed to see whether they could not set theprincess free. 'I will soon find out where she is, however,' said thestar-gazer, as he looked through his glass; and he soon cried out, 'Isee her afar off, sitting upon a rock in the sea, and I can spy thedragon close by, guarding her.' Then he went to the king, and asked fora ship for himself and his brothers; and they sailed together over thesea, till they came to the right place. There they found the princesssitting, as the star-gazer had said, on the rock; and the dragon waslying asleep, with his head upon her lap. 'I dare not shoot at him,'said the huntsman, 'for I should kill the beautiful young lady also.''Then I will try my skill,' said the thief, and went and stole her awayfrom under the dragon, so quietly and gently that the beast did not knowit, but went on snoring.

Then away they hastened with her full of joy in their boat towards theship; but soon came the dragon roaring behind them through the air; forhe awoke and missed the princess. But when he got over the boat, andwanted to pounce upon them and carry off the princess, the huntsman tookup his bow and shot him straight through the heart so that he fell downdead. They were still not safe; for he was such a great beast that inhis fall he overset the boat, and they had to swim in the open seaupon a few planks. So the tailor took his needle, and with a few largestitches put some of the planks together; and he sat down upon these,and sailed about and gathered up all pieces of the boat; and then tackedthem together so quickly that the boat was soon ready, and they thenreached the ship and got home safe.

When they had brought home the princess to her father, there was greatrejoicing; and he said to the four brothers, 'One of you shall marryher, but you must settle amongst yourselves which it is to be.' Thenthere arose a quarrel between them; and the star-gazer said, 'If I hadnot found the princess out, all your skill would have been of no use;therefore she ought to be mine.' 'Your seeing her would have been ofno use,' said the thief, 'if I had not taken her away from the dragon;therefore she ought to be mine.' 'No, she is mine,' said the huntsman;'for if I had not killed the dragon, he would, after all, have torn youand the princess into pieces.' 'And if I had not sewn the boat togetheragain,' said the tailor, 'you would all have been drowned, therefore sheis mine.' Then the king put in a word, and said, 'Each of you is right;and as all cannot have the young lady, the best way is for neither ofyou to have her: for the truth is, there is somebody she likes a greatdeal better. But to make up for your loss, I will give each of you, as areward for his skill, half a kingdom.' So the brothers agreed that thisplan would be much better than either quarrelling or marrying a lady whohad no mind to have them. And the king then gave to each half a kingdom,as he had said; and they lived very happily the rest of their days, andtook good care of their father; and somebody took better care of theyoung lady, than to let either the dragon or one of the craftsmen haveher again.