- there are two brothers, one rich and one who was poor
- the rich brother was selfish and never gave money to his brother even though his family would starve sometimes
- the poor brother made a living selling grain off of a cart which never made much money
- the poor brother pushed his cart through the forest and noticed a bare mountain
- twelve robbers walked up to the mountain and used the phrase "Mount Semsi, Mount Semsi open up" to cause the mountain to spread open allowing them entrance
- the brother waited until they left to climb down from the tree and use the same trick to see what was inside
- once inside, he saw that there was gold, silver, and precious stones but he never took any of the extremely valuable stuff only enough gold to fill his pockets
- he used this gold to help his family live comfortably and he always lived honestly by giving money to the less fortunate
- when he went back to get more money he would borrow a bushel from his brother to measure out the amount of gold he would carry back but one day his brother found out he was getting gold from somewhere
- the rich brother demanded him to show him where he got the gold or if he didn't he would have him imprisoned
- once the rich man is inside the mountain he grabs all of the most expensive items and in his excitement forgets the words that would let him out
- he realizes that the treasures are of no use to him since he can't even leave
- the robbers come back while he is trapped inside and kill him
Death's Messengers
- death stops a giant on the road and tells him he must be obeyed
- the giant beats death, almost to death
- death is leaning against a stone appearing very ill after his beating when a healthy young man comes down the road and helps him out
- death is grateful for his help but informs him he must come for him one day anyways
- death promises the man he will send messengers before he arrives to take him away
- the man lived very well for awhile until one day he became very ill and was in pain
- no messenger of death had come so he knew he would get better
- one day as he was regaining his health and feeling better death arrived to take him away
- the man was frustrated and claimed that death had not sent his messengers
- death informed him that the messengers were in the form of the illness, the fever, the toothaches he had, and the gout he has lived with
- essentially messengers of death were the effects of aging in that period of time, not a physical person who would come and chat with the man
The Gifts of the Little People
- a goldsmith and a tailor journeyed together through the mountains when they heard a strange but pleasant sound
- they followed the sound to find a group of little people sitting in a circle around a larger old man wearing a colorful jacket who had a white beard
- the two travelers hesitantly entered the circle where they were welcomed and the old man pulled out a knife and shaved their beards and hair
- after they handled that graciously the old man pointed to a pile of coal signaling them to take some and they did
- a monastery bell struck midnight and everyone in the circle disappeared
- they woke in the morning to find the coal in their pockets had turned to gold
- the goldsmith went back again to receive more gold the next night but when he awoke the second time his gold had turned back to coal and his hair never grew back
- he also gained an additional hump, he was already hump backed
Bibliography
Simeli Mountain - Brothers Grimm Ashliman Unit
Death's Messengers - Brothers Grimm Ashliman Unit
The Gifts of the Little People - Brothers Grimm Ashliman Unit
Image Information
Rock Face on Stissing Mountain, Pine Plains, NY - found on wikimedia
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