God's food

God's food is the fifth of ten children's legends in the appendix to the children's and house tales by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 205; ATU 751G *).

content

A poor widow with five children asks her rich sister for bread, but she is hard-hearted and sends her away. When the rich man comes home and cuts the bread, blood flows out. He learns what happened and wants to help the poor, but finds them praying and dying with the children. She no longer wants earthly food.

origin

From the second edition (1819), the legend is included as children's legend No. 5, according to Grimm's comment from the Paderbörnische of the Haxthausen family . For comparison, you cite a song by two ruthless sisters in Brabant , Deutsche Sagen No. 240 and other sources.

Cf. KHM 204 Poverty and humility lead to heaven , KHM 143a The children in famine . A manuscript with a similar conclusion was found in Grimm's estate, whereby three sisters forgot to bring the sick youngest food.

literature

Grimm, brothers. Children's and Household Tales. Last hand edition with the original notes by the Brothers Grimm. With an appendix of all fairy tales and certificates of origin, not published in all editions, published by Heinz Rölleke. Volume 3: Original Notes, Guarantees of Origin, Afterword. Pp. 275–276, 517. Revised and bibliographically supplemented edition, Stuttgart 1994. (Reclam-Verlag; ISBN 3-15-003193-1 )

Song version

The legend is also passed down as a song with the following text:

Once upon a time there were two sisters.
One was young and beautiful. The other was a widow and had five children. So the poor sister went and made her way to her rich sister, whom she found in silk. "Oh, sister, dearest sister, don't you have a piece of bread for my dear little ones, So that they don't suffer hardship." "Oh, sister, dearest sister, my husband is not at home yet ' And, without asking him, give ' I got no bread. ” So the poor sister went and made her way to her dear little ones, whom she found hungry. And when the man came home, the knife as red as blood. The bread as hard as stone, The knife as red as blood. So the rich sister went and made her way to her poor sister, who found her in mourning. "Oh, sister, dearest sister, here you have a piece of bread for your dear little ones, so that they don't suffer hardship." "Oh, sister, dearest sister, my children are all already dead. The Lord has taken them so that they won't suffer hardship. "
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Web links

Wikisource: God's Food - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

↑ Rölleke, Heinz (Ed.): Fairy tales from the estate of the Brothers Grimm. 5th improved and supplemented edition. WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, Trier 2001, ISBN 3-88476-471-3 , p. 26, 105-106.

[1] Rölleke, Heinz (Ed.): Fairy tales from the estate of the Brothers Grimm. 5th improved and supplemented edition. WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, Trier 2001, ISBN 3-88476-471-3 , p. 26, 105-106.