The Miller's Son

A miller once had two sons, his mill, and a donkey; the sons milled every day with the help of the donkey to get grain and carry flour away. When the miller died, the two sons divided their inheritance, the oldest receiving the mill, and the youngest receiving the donkey, further, nothing was left for him. Thereon he spoke to himself: “I seem to have gotten the worst, my brother has the mill, and I can only ride the donkey. What can I start with the donkey? Let me ride until he collapses, so it will be over.”

“Listen,” said God, who heard everything, “you will need an angel for your journey, and before your donkey collapses, take two from my hand, and be seen among the people, and you will soon be helped.”

The miller’s son was in wonderment, that he heard God speak, and a shoemaker walked by and gave him a donkey. But because the shoemaker just walked by and handed him a donkey, the miller’s son called him in, and let a pair of shoes be measured for him. When he was ready, the millers’s son tightened the strings of his shoes, took a sack, made the bottom filled with flour, and pulled it closed, threw it on his donkey, and rode off.

In those days reigned a king in the land, who liked to walk through the forest. His kingdom was so full, his power so grand, and that no wild hunter could give him any fear; everyone knew that he was King and considered him better. When he came into the forest, he saw the miller’s son, with his donkeys, and his angel, with a sack open, spreading the corn apart and laying it into the grass. There he hid himself, snuck around a hedge and lurked.

His fiddler soon came running in, and another royal stoog hopped into the hedge for good company. When he saw the miller’s son had eaten a good quantity, he motioned to the fiddler who pulled out his lute for his entrance.

The miller’s son twisted his head around; then he threw the sack over his donkey and went to the music. The stoog cried: “Halt! Who art thou?” as the fiddler tried keep the pacing of his music fixed to the king. The young man looked to the king and said, “I am a miller’s son, and I am traveling until the end of my oldest donkey’s day.” The stoog answered, “Are you crazed, speaking to the king?” - “let him go” said the king quickly to the stoog. “And whereto are you heading?” Said the king, and the fiddler started humming and buzzing under his lute.

Then the old donkey came in front of the king, and spoke in a reverent voice and said: “My Herr, the angel, with that he gave his beloved and distinguished name, let herself be recommended to the Herr King. God sends him these from heaven, that in case I collapse.” The king was astonished that the old donkey could speak so beautifully, and knew not how to contain the pleasure his musician’s lute gave him, and commanded that the miller’s son be given as much gold out of the chamber that the old donkey could carry: “That bring your Heaven and thank him many times for his gift.”

And as the miller’s son headed home, he thought of all the money he would bring to the mill, but on the journey back, the the miller’s old donkey collapsed. With his last breath, he said to the son: “The king also greets you and says many thanks to you. You have money enough now, but it should not be just that, you will become richer still, that you travel to the palace.” So he unstrapped the gold from the old donkey, and joined his angel heading to the palace.

On the next day the shoemaker found him in the forest, and left him another donkey. He warned him of hunters in the forest, and gave him shoes to bring to the king. So it went several days, and the donkeys carried gold to kingdom, that he was cautious in the wild forest.

When he arrived to the palace, he was so popular to the king, that he could come in and go out and prowl around in the palace, where he wanted. One time one of the donkeys stood in the kitchen and warmed himself with the stove, thereon came a stoog who cursed: “There I should go, and tried to drive the young donkey into the stove.”

As the angel heard him cry, she snuck in and told his donkey: “If a hot donkey you want to be, so come outside with me to the spring and bathe yourself therein.” The miller’s son did not know, what he should say to that, but followed the donkey, went with him, found the water, undressed naked and sprang into the hot water. Now the young donkey carried away their clothes and walked around the forest. No sooner was the king driving by; who recognized the donkey immediately and said “Ach! Donkey! Thereon a hunter could steal the angel’s clothes, that walk in the forest. Now the stoog is coming, and if he is ‘round, we will all hear royal music. Take my clothing before they arrive.”

When the donkey heard music, he called to the stoog and said to go back to he kingdom, because the king was in the water. And when the donkey returned to the hot spring, he held his worth, so that he sat with them in the water. The angel was also not upset over it, because he was young and handsome, and she liked him quite well.

Now the three of them went ahead with the donkey in his magnificent clothing and came to a large grass field, where over a hundred people were farming wheat. “Who does this grass field belong to you people?” Cried the donkey to the crowd - “It belongs to the king” - cried all when they saw the royal king.

The king said proudly to the donkey, “That is but a trifle to me.” And the young donkey said, in the same reverent voice as the old donkey, “That is unbelievable and unheard of, I would never had dreamt of this coming into my thoughts; but more still, all else, it would be, that you can certainly do more, than any other king in the world, “ And the king turned to the miller’s son and said: “Thou art a rich man, Herr Miller, I do not believe, that I have such a magnificent forest.” Finally he came to miller’s son, and took the royal clothes and shoes off the donkey and said: “Herr King, thou comest to thy palace, the Miller, that this honors him and makes him happy his life day long.”

The king stepped out and marveled at the magnificent miller’s son, that was almost larger and more beautiful, than his own palace; and the donkey led the angel up the grass into the farm, that was to be a palace shimmering with gold and precious stones.

Thereon the King promised to the Miller, that when he died, he was to be king.