The Pack of Ragamuffins
Story by: Brothers Grimm
Source: Kinder- und Hausmärchen
One bright morning, a cock said to his friend the hen, “Let’s go on an adventure and see the world!” The hen clapped her wings in delight, and off they set, strutting down the lane.
On their way, they met a duck waddling by the pond. “Where are you two going?” quacked the duck.
“We’re off to seek our fortune!” crowed the cock.
“May I join you?” asked the duck. The cock and hen agreed, and the three continued together.
Soon, they found a pin lying in the dust. “Take me with you!” squeaked the pin. The cock picked him up, and they went on. Next, they found a needle glinting in the grass. “Don’t leave me behind!” called the needle. The hen tucked her under her wing.
As night fell, the group reached an inn. “May we stay the night?” asked the cock.
The innkeeper eyed them suspiciously. “Only if you bring me an egg and some feathers for my pillow.”
The hen laid a fresh egg, and they plucked some feathers. That night, the friends feasted and sang songs by the fire. The innkeeper, thinking of his soft new pillow, went to bed content.
But the ragamuffins were mischievous. Before dawn, they hid the egg in the grass, scattered feathers everywhere, stuck the pin upright in the innkeeper’s chair, and placed the needle in his towel.
At sunrise, the cock crowed, “Time to go!” and the friends slipped away, laughing.
When the innkeeper awoke, he sat on the pin and yelped. He wiped his face with the towel and pricked his nose on the needle. Feathers floated through the air, and the egg was nowhere to be found.
“Those ragamuffins!” he shouted, but the cock, hen, duck, pin, and needle were already far down the road, cackling and quacking at their clever tricks.
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