“A certain country was greatly troubled by a wild boar that attacked workers in the fields, killed men, and tore them to pieces with its terrible tusks.”

“Once upon a time lived a peasant and his wife, and the parson of the village had a fancy for the wife, and had wished for a long while to spend a whole day happily with her, and the peasant woman, too, was quite willing.”

“There once was a miller who had a beautiful daughter, and when she was grown up he became anxious that she should be well married and taken care of; so he thought, ‘If a decent sort of man comes and asks her in marriage, I will give her to him.'”

“There was once a rich man who had a servant who served him diligently and honestly.” The title of this fairy tale gave me an uneasy feeling when I first read it, and that uneasiness was justified in the tale itself. The first line I typed above does not mention the character from the title, so before I get into the anti-Semitic details I’ll share with you how the story progresses, in case you have not read (and/or do not plan to read) this fairy tale.

“‘Good-day, Father Hollenthe.’ ‘Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie.’ ‘May I be allowed to have your daughter?’ ‘Oh, yes, if Mother Malcho (Milch-cow), Brother High-and-Mighty, Sister Käsetraut, and fair Katrinelje are willing, you can have her.’ ‘Where is Mother Malcho, then?’ “She is in the cow-house, milking the cow.'”

“There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat.”