A poor woodcutter lives with his wife and four children in a small cottage. One day, he sends the children out to gather firewood while he stays behind to rest. The eldest son finds a sparrow who has been injured by a cat. He takes pity on it and decides to nurse it back to health. The sparrow eventually recovers and rewards the boy with a magical gift: a golden ring that grants wishes. However, the ring comes with a warning: each wish will be granted at a terrible cost. The eldest son uses the ring to wish for wealth, but his family is cursed with poverty instead. The second son wishes for fame, but he becomes notorious for his cruel behavior. The third son wishes for power, and he is given absolute authority over the land, but it comes at the cost of losing all his loved ones. The youngest son is the only one who resists the temptation of the ring. He decides to use it to wish for wisdom instead, which allows him to see through the ring's deceitful nature and ultimately destroy it.
By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · First published 1819 · Genre: Fairy Tale, Fable, Children's Literature