--- title: The Turnip — Grimms' Fairy Tales · full text with trees description: The Turnip, «Grimms' Fairy Tales» by Jacob Grimm: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: There were two brothers who were both soldiers; the one was rich and the other poor. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Grimms' Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/) / The Turnip # The Turnip The Turnip of «Grimms' Fairy Tales» by Jacob Grimm: the whole text, 41 sentences and 1156 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself; 1 of them are in the tales treebank and were checked by a teacher model. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/1/) — There were two brothers who were both soldiers; the one was rich and the other poor. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/2/) — The poor man thought he would try to better himself; so, pulling off his red coat, he became a gardener, and dug his ground well, and sowed turnips. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/3/) — When the seed came up, there was one plant bigger than all the rest; and it kept getting larger and larger, and seemed as if it would never cease growing; so that it might have been called the prince of turnips for there never was such a one seen before, and never will again. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/4/) — At last it was so big that it filled a cart, and two oxen could hardly draw it; and the gardener knew not what in the world to do with it, nor whether it would be a blessing or a curse to him. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/5/) — One day he said to himself, ‘What shall I do with it? if I sell it, it will bring no more than another; and for eating, the little turnips are better than this; the best thing perhaps is to carry it and give it to the king as a mark of respect.’ - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/6/) — Then he yoked his oxen, and drew the turnip to the court, and gave it to the king. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/7/) — ‘What a wonderful thing!’ said the king; ‘I have seen many strange things, but such a monster as this I never saw. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/8/) — Where did you get the seed? or is it only your good luck? - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/9/) — If so, you are a true child of fortune.’ - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/10/) — ‘Ah, no!’ answered the gardener, ‘I am no child of fortune; I am a poor soldier, who never could get enough to live upon; so I laid aside my red coat, and set to work, tilling the ground. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/11/) — I have a brother, who is rich, and your majesty knows him well, and all the world knows him; but because I am poor, everybody forgets me.’ - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/12/) — The king then took pity on him, and said, ‘You shall be poor no longer. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/13/) — I will give you so much that you shall be even richer than your brother.’ - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/14/) — Then he gave him gold and lands and flocks, and made him so rich that his brother’s fortune could not at all be compared with his. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/15/) — When the brother heard of all this, and how a turnip had made the gardener so rich, he envied him sorely, and bethought himself how he could contrive to get the same good fortune for himself. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/16/) — However, he determined to manage more cleverly than his brother, and got together a rich present of gold and fine horses for the king; and thought he must have a much larger gift in return; for if his brother had received so much for only a turnip, what must his present be worth? - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/17/) — The king took the gift very graciously, and said he knew not what to give in return more valuable and wonderful than the great turnip; so the soldier was forced to put it into a cart, and drag it home with him. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/18/) — When he reached home, he knew not upon whom to vent his rage and spite; and at length wicked thoughts came into his head, and he resolved to kill his brother. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/19/) — So he hired some villains to murder him; and having shown them where to lie in ambush, he went to his brother, and said, ‘Dear brother, I have found a hidden treasure; let us go and dig it up, and share it between us.’ - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/20/) — The other had no suspicions of his roguery: so they went out together, and as they were travelling along, the murderers rushed out upon him, bound him, and were going to hang him on a tree. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/21/) — But whilst they were getting all ready, they heard the trampling of a horse at a distance, which so frightened them that they pushed their prisoner neck and shoulders together into a sack, and swung him up by a cord to the tree, where they left him dangling, and ran away. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/22/) — Meantime he worked and worked away, till he made a hole large enough to put out his head. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/23/) — When the horseman came up, he proved to be a student, a merry fellow, who was journeying along on his nag, and singing as he went. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/24/) — As soon as the man in the sack saw him passing under the tree, he cried out, ‘Good morning! good morning to thee, my friend!’ - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/25/) — The student looked about everywhere; and seeing no one, and not knowing where the voice came from, cried out, ‘Who calls me?’ - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/26/) — Then the man in the tree answered, ‘Lift up thine eyes, for behold here I sit in the sack of wisdom; here have I, in a short time, learned great and wondrous things. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/27/) — Compared to this seat, all the learning of the schools is as empty air. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/28/) — A little longer, and I shall know all that man can know, and shall come forth wiser than the wisest of mankind. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/29/) — Here I discern the signs and motions of the heavens and the stars; the laws that control the winds; the number of the sands on the seashore; the healing of the sick; the virtues of all simples, of birds, and of precious stones. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/30/) — Wert thou but once here, my friend, though wouldst feel and own the power of knowledge. — checked by a teacher - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/31/) — The student listened to all this and wondered much; at last he said, ‘Blessed be the day and hour when I found you; cannot you contrive to let me into the sack for a little while?’ - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/32/) — Then the other answered, as if very unwillingly, ‘A little space I may allow thee to sit here, if thou wilt reward me well and entreat me kindly; but thou must tarry yet an hour below, till I have learnt some little matters that are yet unknown to me.’ - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/33/) — So the student sat himself down and waited a while; but the time hung heavy upon him, and he begged earnestly that he might ascend forthwith, for his thirst for knowledge was great. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/34/) — Then the other pretended to give way, and said, ‘Thou must let the sack of wisdom descend, by untying yonder cord, and then thou shalt enter.’ - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/35/) — So the student let him down, opened the sack, and set him free. - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/36/) — ‘Now then,’ cried he, ‘let me ascend quickly.’ - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/37/) — As he began to put himself into the sack heels first, ‘Wait a while,’ said the gardener, ‘that is not the way.’ - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/38/) — Then he pushed him in head first, tied up the sack, and soon swung up the searcher after wisdom dangling in the air. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/39/) — ‘How is it with thee, friend?’ said he, ‘dost thou not feel that wisdom comes unto thee? - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/40/) — Rest there in peace, till thou art a wiser man than thou wert.’ - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/39/41/) — So saying, he trotted off on the student’s nag, and left the poor fellow to gather wisdom till somebody should come and let him down. - ← previous: [The Juniper-tree](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/38/) - next →: [Clever Hans](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/40/) - ↑ back to [Grimms' Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/)