Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage

I almost decided not to post this story here. I read it about four times and a few times in part. I'm still a little perplexed by it. I think that some old fairy tales can sometimes have character changes or plot tweaks as it gets lost in the whirlpool known as oral tradition. But wow. I don't even know what to say about this story.

Anyways, here it is. Maybe you can make something of it. I present to you the fairy tale known as The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage:

A mouse, a bird, and a sausage all lived together in a beautiful cottage in the woods. Each housemate had a specific job—the bird flew out into the forest to collect wood, the mouse carried water and lit the fireplace, and the sausage cooked dinner. Working together like this, they were able to lead a comfortable, if weird, life.

One day, while collecting wood in the forest, the bird met an old friend who ridiculed the bird for working so hard while the sausage and the mouse got to stay at home all day doing nothing. He argued that all the mouse had to do was put the fire on and that the sausage only had to sit at the stove all day until the porridge was ready. The bird agreed. Instead of going out to work the next day, he told his friends that he didn’t want to be their slave anymore and that if they wanted any wood they would have to go out themselves to get it.

The mouse and sausage were surprised, but agreed to try swapping jobs, with the sausage going into the forest to collect wood. However, the sausage did not return the next day and the bird had to go out and look for him. Soon, he came across a dog carrying the sausage in his mouth. The bird begged him to let the sausage go, but the dog refused, claiming that the sausage had been carrying forged papers and killing it instead. To make matters worse, the bird returned home to find that in trying to cook the mouse had jumped into the pot and boiled to death. Enraged, the bird threw the wood all about the house, causing the building to catch fire. Trying to put the blaze out, the bird somehow managed to knock himself down a well, where he drowned.

The End.

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The point of it is probably to convey the problems when one in a group gets lazy, forcing the others to take on more work. And that is well represented by the comical chaos that ensues in the story. And to be honest, I can understand a mouse and a bird working together... but what the heck is with the sausage?

Anyways, that's all I got. I hope you enjoyed the insanity. RIP, little mouse.

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