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The Tale of the Woodcutter

The Eldest Son

On the first day, the woodcutter sent out his eldest son. He gave him the ring for protection and his second-best ax. The eldest son, who was the cleverest, headed into the woods.

On the way, he encountered another woodsman, who was weeping in the road. The boy stopped and asked him why he wept. The woodsman explained that he had lost his ax in a river and without it, he would bring home no kindling and his family would freeze. The eldest son said he knew the river well, and only a few miles down there was a shallow part. He was sure his ax must have washed up there. Perhaps if he headed that way, he would find it.

The eldest son continued on his way, whistling as he went. He was nearly at the clearing where his father’s ax had been left when he saw the Lindwurm, a great serpent curled around the trees, barring his path from the ax.

The clever eldest son knew that disturbing the beast would lead to his death, so he hatched a plan. Retracing his steps, he found the place in the river that he had told the weeping woodsman of. There, in the shallow waters, as he suspected, he found the other man’s ax. He took it and went to find a witch in the woods who was known to him. Using his considerable wits, he created a charm to make the ax look identical to the one that his father had sent him to find.

He brought the ax home and presented it to his father. But as soon as the woodcutter held it, he knew that it was not his own ax.

His eldest son had failed. Though he was clever, he was not worthy to inherit.