Grimm’s ”The Turnip:” Getting Not What You Seek, but What You Need

2025-06-24

Grimm's "The Turnip:” Getting Not What You Seek, but What You Need There are two brothers – one rich, the other poor. The poor one wants to better himself so he casts off his red coat and becomes a gardener, digging a well and sewing turnips. One turnip grew larger and larger. He reasons that he can sell it only at the same price as the others, and the little ones are better for eating. He decides to take it to the king as a sign of respect, and loads it onto his cart, filling that up, pulled by two oxen.

Grimm's "The Turnip:” Getting Not What You Seek, but What You Need

There are two brothers – one rich, the other poor. The poor one wants to better himself so he casts off his red coat and becomes a gardener, digging a well and sewing turnips. One turnip grew larger and larger. He reasons that he can sell it only at the same price as the others, and the little ones are better for eating. He decides to take it to the king as a sign of respect, and loads it onto his cart, filling that up, pulled by two oxen.

The king, who has seen many strange things, is astonished, and asks where the gardener got this monster; is it luck? If so, you must be a child of fortune, he says. But the gardener responds he is only a poor soldier and gardener, and it is his brother who is the one that the king and all the world knows.

The king takes pity on him and gives him enough gold, land, and flocks to be richer than his brother. But when his brother heard this, he was envious. He devises a plan to gift a large treasure to the king to receive even more than his brother has, but when the king receives this gift graciously, he professes that he knows not what is more valuable than the wondrous turnip. Forced to drag this home in his cart, the brother, full of rage and spite, resolves to kill his brother and hired murderers to ambuscade him.

He tells his brother that he’s found a great treasure, and that they should go dig it up. As they traveled, they were ambushed and the murderers tied the gardener brother up. But they were frightened by an oncoming horse and pushed the prisoner neck and shoulders into a sack and swung it up by a tree, dangling, and ran away. But he worked and worked and made a hole to push out his head.

The student on his nag came up; a merry fellow, he was singing. The brother addressed him, “Good morning, friend!” The student could not see anyone and cried out, “Who calls me?” and the man in the tree told him to look up. “Behold, I sit in the sack of wisdom. In a short time I have learned great and wondrous things. School-learning is nothing by comparison. Soon I’ll know all. With but one time here, one would feel and own the power of knowledge.”

The student asks to go up, but the man acts reluctant, but seems to acquiesce, saying that there is a bit of space next to him. Tells him to tarry a bit because he still has some learning to do. So the student sits but is soon overcome with impatience and begs to ascend, and the other tells him to let the sack descend, and enter!

The student began to go in feet first, and the other corrected him, pushing him in head first. He pulls the student up and asks how he is. Says he’ll rest in peace and soon be wiser than he was. Then he trotted off on the student’s nag until someone let him down.

We discuss this story, seeing it as about the character transformation of the poorer brother, sacrifice, being lost and finding one’s way, and gaining wisdom. For wisdom, the poorer brother, even after his reward from the king, still has to learn savvy from his brother, and he then transmits wisdom to the naive student. Wisdom here seems to be about personal transformation, and seems to be a theme as touched on by the various instances of characters who get not what they sought, but what they needed.

Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.

He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness.

You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado

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