This children’s story by Hans Christian Andersen caused a stir among critics when first released because of the violence involved. A poor farmer who develops a talent for swindling people invents stories to explain the source of his newfound wealth to an envious neighbor.. When the greedy neighbor tries to make money the same way, he suffers greatly. In a fit of anger, the neighbor tries to kill the farmer. However this, too, results in an unexpected windfall for the unscrupulous fraudster. Themes include cleverness, fraud, greed, envy, death, turning the tables.
Our source for the story was the Project Gutenberg e-book Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Like many early children’s writers, some of Andersen’s stories re-told folktales that he had heard as a child. This is one of these.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (4,450 words)