There was once a man who had three sons. The youngest was called Dummling. Everyone in the family treated him badly and laughed at him because they thought he was not very smart.
One day, the eldest son went into the forest to cut wood. His mother gave him a delicious cake and a bottle of wine so he would not be hungry or thirsty. In the forest, he met a little gray-haired man. The man said, "Please, give me a piece of your cake and a drink of your wine. I am very hungry." But the son replied, "If I give you my food, I will have nothing for myself. Go away!"
Soon after he started working, the son made a mistake with his axe and cut his arm. He had to go home to see a doctor. This was the little man’s secret punishment.
The second son then went into the forest with cake and wine. He met the same little man and refused to share his food. Just like his brother, he made a mistake and hit his leg with the axe. He was carried home in pain.
Finally, Dummling said, "Father, let me go and cut wood." His father laughed and said, "Your brothers are stronger than you and they got hurt. You know nothing about this work." But Dummling kept asking until his father agreed. His mother gave him only some hard bread and a bottle of sour beer.
In the forest, the little gray man met him too. "Give me some food and drink," the man said. Dummling answered, "I only have hard bread and sour beer, but if you want to eat with me, let's sit down."
As they sat, a miracle happened. The hard bread turned into a sweet cake, and the sour beer became fine wine. After they ate, the little man said, "Because you have a good heart and you shared with me, I will give you good luck. Cut down that old tree and you will find something at the roots."
Dummling cut down the tree, and inside the roots, he found a goose with feathers of pure gold. He took the goose to an inn to stay the night. The innkeeper had three daughters who saw the golden goose. They were very curious and wanted just one golden feather.
The eldest daughter waited until Dummling left the room, then she grabbed the goose’s wing. Suddenly, her hand stuck fast to the bird! She could not pull it away. The second sister came to help, but as soon as she touched her sister, she stuck to her. Finally, the third sister came, and she stuck to the second one. All three had to spend the night stuck together.
The next morning, Dummling picked up his goose and walked away. He didn't care that the three girls were hanging onto it. They had to run after him wherever he went. In a field, they met a priest. "Shame on you!" he shouted at the girls. He tried to pull the youngest girl away, but he stuck to her too. Then his assistant came to help, and he stuck to the priest. Finally, two laborers joined the line. Now, seven people were running behind Dummling and his goose.
They arrived in a city where the King had a daughter who was always serious. She never laughed. The King had promised that whoever made her laugh could marry her. When the princess saw the seven people running in a line behind a goose, she began to laugh so loudly that she couldn't stop.
Dummling asked to marry her, but the King did not want a son-in-law like Dummling. He gave him three difficult tasks. First, he told Dummling to find a man who could drink a whole cellar of wine. Dummling went to the forest and found the little man’s friend, who was incredibly thirsty. The man drank all the King’s wine in one day.
Next, the King told Dummling to find a man who could eat a mountain of bread. Dummling found another friend in the forest who was always hungry. The man ate the mountain of bread until it vanished. Finally, the King asked for a ship that could sail on both land and water. The little gray man gave Dummling the ship because he had been kind.
The King could not say no any longer. Dummling married the princess and, many years later, became the King. He lived a very happy life because he had been kind to a stranger.