The Mouse, The Bird and the Sausage

Cultural origins: This is a German folktale, akin to that told by the brothers Grimm, was first found in a collection titled: The Wonderful True Story of Philander von Sittewald by Hans Michael Moscherosch (136).

Intended audience: Late Elementary School (8-10)

Why this audience?: While this is a quick tale, it is also a sad tale that goes downhill fast. It is for this reason that it may be appropriate to tell to the older elementary school student. They will of course enjoy the image: a sausage cooking soup, swimming around in it to make it taste better. This story is easily paired with a classic Grimm tale like Snow White or Little Red Riding Hood that also have tragic elements. 

Characters:  Bird
                        Mouse
                        Sausage
                        Other Bird
                        Dog
                        

Scenes/Settings: A cozy cottage in the woods

Synopsis: The bird, the mouse and the sausage live happily in their home, each doing a portion of the housework. The bird collects kindling for the fire. The mouse gathers water from the well. And the sausage tends the pot of soup over the fire, which he seasons by slithering in it occasionally. One day when the bird was off collecting kindling he was talking with another bird about how great his life was. The other bird scoffed and said that the bird certainly had the raw end of the deal and was doing way more work than the sausage or the mouse. This idea festers in the bird's head for days until he finally confronts the mouse and the sausage and insists they switch jobs.

So the next day the sausage heads to the woods to find kindling. When he doesn't return the bird goes looking for him and found that a dog has eaten him. While the bird is out the mouse gets nervous that the soup won't be tasty enough and tries to imitate sausage and swims around in the soup until he drowns. When the bird returns to see his friend drowning in the soup she tries to pull him out with such force that the logs from the fire roll out and catch fire to the house. In her haste to pull water from the well to put out the fire she is pulled down and drowns, herself.

Story Climaxes/High Points: Trying to emulate the soups of the sausage, the mouse jumps into the soup to flavor it but can't get out. The bird tries desperately to rescue his friend by pulling him out of the pot. Instead, in his haste to help the mouse he scatters the logs of the fire, burning the house to the ground.

Special Chants/Phrases: None

Bibliographic Information:

Pullman, P. (2012). The Mouse, The Bird and the Sausage. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm; A New English Version (pp.133 - 137). New York: Viking.