Fitcher's Bird: A Classic Tale in English for Kids

In this fairy tale, the title “Fitcher's bird” comes from a song sung by the friend of the wizard and the wizard himself as they pass the camouflaged girl on their way to a wedding. “Fitcher's bird” seems to be derived from the Icelandic word fitfuglar, which means “web-footed bird”. This story is about a wizard, who pretends to be a beggar and captures "pretty girls" who come to the door when he visits any house. Read the story from the free in the Fitcher's Bird Summary given here.

Origin of the Fitcher's Bird Story

In 1812, the Brothers Grimm published the story in the first edition of their Grimms' Fairy Tales. In later editions, they made a number of revisions, both major and minor. Their sources were Friederike Mannel and Henriette Dorothea (Dortchen) Wild. You can download the Fitcher’s Bird PDF to keep a copy handy.

Fitcher's Bird Story in English 

Once upon a time, there was a wizard who disguised himself as a poor man and went to houses and begged for food and caught pretty girls. There was no indication of where he carried them, since they were never seen again. One day he appeared before the door of a man who had three pretty daughters. He appeared to be a poor, weak beggar, carrying a basket on his back, as if he had been intending to collect charitable donations from them.

He begged for a little food, and when his eldest daughter approached with a piece of bread, he did nothing but touch her, causing her to jump into his basket. Immediately thereafter, he hurried away with long strides and carried her into the dark forest, where his house stood.

It was a beautiful house, and he provided her with everything she needed. He said, "My dear, you will like it here with me. You will have everything that your heart desires."

So, it went on for a few days, and then he told her, "I have to go away and leave you alone for a short time. Here are the house keys. You may go everywhere and look at everything except for the one room that this little key here unlocks. I forbid you to go there on the penalty of death."

He also gave her an egg, saying, "Take good care of this egg. You should carry it with you at all times, for if you should lose it great misfortune would follow."

After taking the keys and egg, she promised to take good care of everything.

Once he had left, she inspected the entire house from top to bottom. Her eyes were filled with awe as she looked upon the rooms that shone with silver and gold.

At last, she reached the forbidden door. Despite her desire to ignore it, her curiosity prevented her from doing so. She examined the key. There was nothing unusual about it. As soon as she inserted the key into the lock and twisted it a little, the door swung open.

When she entered, what did she see? The centre of the room had a large bloody basin containing the cut up remains of dead girls. There was a wooden block nearby on which a glistening axe lay.

Her fear caused her to drop the egg she held in her hand into the basin. After pulling it out again, she tried wiping off the blood, but it always returned. Although she scrubbed and wiped, she was not able to remove the stain.

As soon as the man returned from his journey, he asked for the key and the egg. As she handed them to him, shaken all the while, he could tell from the red stain that she had been in the blood chamber.

"You went into that chamber against my will," he said, "and now against your will you shall go into it once again. Your life is finished."

The man threw her down, dragged her by her hair into the chamber, severed her head from the block, and then began to cut her into pieces, and the blood began to flow onto the ground. She was then thrown into the basin along with the others.

"Now I will go get the second one," said the sorcerer, and, again disguised as a poor man, he went to their house begging.

In the same manner as he had done to the first sister, the second sister brought him a piece of bread. He immediately captured her by merely touching her, and took her away with him. Her experience was no better than that of her sister. As a result of her curiosity, she opened the blood chamber and looked inside. She paid with her life when he returned.

After that, he attempted to capture the third sister, but she was clever and sly. She carefully placed the egg aside after he had given her the keys and the egg, and then examined the house before entering the forbidden chamber.

What a sight she saw! In the basin were his two dear sisters, miserably murdered and chopped to pieces. Despite this, she gathered the parts together and placed them in the correct order: head, body, arms, and legs. Once nothing else was missing, the parts began to move. After joining together, the two girls regained consciousness and opened their eyes. Together, they rejoiced and kissed each other.

As soon as the man returned home, he demanded the keys and the egg, and when he could not detect any blood on them, he said, "You have passed the test. You shall be my bride."

His power had now been stripped away from him, and he had no choice but to comply with her demands.

"Good," she replied, "but first you must carry a basketful of gold to my parents. I will make preparations for the wedding while you take the gold there."

Afterwards, she turned to her sisters, who were hiding in a closet, and said, "The time has come for me to save you. The evildoer himself will carry you home. As soon as you arrive at your home, please send assistance to me."

The two were placed in a basket, which was completely covered in gold so that they could not be seen. She then called the sorcerer in and said, "Now carry this basket away, but you are not to stop and rest underway. Be careful, as I will be watching you from my window."

After lifting the basket onto his back, the sorcerer walked away with it. The weight of it pressed so hard on him that he was sweating. As he sat down, one of the girls in the basket immediately called out, "I am looking through my little window, and I can see that you are resting. Walk on!"

He believed that his bride was calling to him, so he got up again. After this, he again wanted to sit down, but someone immediately called out, "I am looking through my little window, and I can see that you are resting. Walk on!"

His every stop was interrupted by someone shouting, and he had to keep walking until, groaning and out of breath, he brought the basket to their parents.

At home, the bride was preparing for the wedding feast for which she had invited the sorcerer's friends. She then carried a skull with smiling teeth to the attic window and adorned it with jewellery and flowers.

As soon as everything was ready, she dipped herself into a barrel of honey. She then cut open the bed, rolling around until she looked like a strange bird and no one would have recognized her. After that, she walked out of the house.

A few of the wedding guests were able to meet her during the ceremony, and they asked, "You, Fitcher's bird, where are you coming from?"

"I am coming from Fitcher's house."

"What is his young bride doing there?"

"She has swept the house from bottom to top, and now she is looking out of the attic window."

Finally her bridegroom met her. He was slowly walking back home, and, like the others, he asked, "You, Fitcher's bird, where are you coming from?"

"I am coming from Fitcher's house."

"What is my young bride doing there?"

"She has swept the house from bottom to top, and now she is looking out of the attic window."

As the bridegroom looked up, he smiled. Upon seeing the decorated skull, he thought it was his bride and waved a friendly greeting to her.

After he and his guests had entered the house, the bride's brothers and relatives arrived. Their mission was to rescue her. As soon as the sorcerer, together with his gang, had closed up all the doors to the house, they set it ablaze, and they were all burned alive.

The Old Sorcerer Carrying Two Sisters on his Back

Fitcher's Bird Moral for Kids

The Fitcher's Bird Moral has several layers of morals and virtues. The sorcerer granted the first two daughters anything and everything they requested. His only request was that they not open any doors in his house and protect his egg. He even provided them with the keys to everything. It was a test of morality, temptation, and trust. The sorcerer wanted to see if they possessed any greed in their heart to the point that they had to have everything. They were tested on their restraint through the temptation trial. As part of the story, it is incorporated that the sorcerer and his family were burned alive in order to illustrate that two wrongs do not make a right. Taking lives cost him his own life.