Barbara O’Brien
Lit 140
Summer 2005
Storytelling Extra Credit
The Three Wishes Revised
The Three Wishes
Long ago, in a place far away, there lived Hans, the woodcutter and his wife, Hazel. They lived a simple life in a small cottage far from town. Each day Hans would trudge off to cut wood, earning a meek but honest living for himself and his wife.
“Foolish old man”, said Hazel shaking her head, “spending day after day chopping wood when you could go to town to work and then we could live like kings”. Day after day, Hans continued to chop wood much to his wife’s displeasure. “If you would only listen to me, our life would be wonderful!”
Many days passed until one day Hans returned from a long, tiring day chopping wood with exciting news. Before his wife could start in yet again with her harping about their worthless life, Hans proclaimed;
“Dear wife, something most unusual happened to me today. As I chopped down a tree, a beautiful fairy appeared before me. She spoke to me in the softest of voices. She said if I would stop cutting down the trees, she would grant me three wishes! Hurrah, we shall be rich!!” And Hans danced across the room, doing a merry little jig. “I have only to meet her in the clearing in the valley tomorrow to have my wishes granted!”
“Hans! Come to your senses! Do you not know you live in a folktale? When fairies appear, wishes are granted right away. You should return to the woods at once to claim your wishes!”
Hans refused to listen to his wife and said he would follow the fairy’s instructions.
“You are a foolish old man, Hans. Mark my words. Then come and eat your supper before it gets cold.”
Now, if Hans had been as smart as he thought he was, he would have listened to his wife and asked for those wishes as soon as he met that fairy. But, according to Hazel, Hans was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Later that night, as Hans sank into a chair he sighed, “Oh, me achin’ back. I wish I didn’t have to work so hard!” <POOF> (Little did he realize it but he had just been granted wish number one).
“Stop mumbling and grumbling so, you foolish old man. If you would listen to me, you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
As Hans washed up before bed, he noticed the stars were covered by clouds. “How I wish I could see the moon and stars in the evening,” said Hans. <POOF> (There went wish number two).
“Hans!” shrieked his wife, “whatever are you doing out there for so long? Get in here this minute!”
“Ahh”, sighed Hans, “how I wish for evenings of peace and quiet.” <POOF> (That’s right, there went his third and final wish).
None the wiser, Hans retired to his bed to dream about what he would wish for. In the morning, he awoke to find the forest had disappeared and he no longer had any work as a woodcutter! He had to take a job in town, which turned out to be a very prosperous venture.
For some reason he never understood, from that day on there were never clouds in the sky again and every night was clear and dry. And to his complete surprise, his wife was rendered speechless and from that day forward, his life was very quiet. However, she seemed quite happy with their change in circumstances and lived out her life in comfort.
But most distressing of all, that fairy never did appear again to grant Hans his three wishes. He never did figure it out. For the rest of his days on Earth, Hans went to work in town and soon became a very wealthy, though confused, man.
