The Stonecutter

"The Stone-cutter" is a supposed Japanese folk-tale published by Andrew Lang in The Crimson Fairy Book (1903), taken from 's Japanische Märchen (1885). However, the story has been pointed out to closely resemble the "Japanese Stonecutter" parable in Dutch novelist Multatuli's Max Havelaar (1860), which is in turn a reworking of a story written by Wolter Robert baron van Hoëvell aka "Jeronimus".(1842) The tale is closely related to the themes of The Fisherman and His Wife, a well known fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. In the legend, a poor stone-cutter craves to become a rich man, then a prince; his wishes are granted in turn by a mountain spirit. He then enviously desires to become the sun, impervious to heat; then clouds, undaunted by the sun; then the mountain, which withstands the rain which falls from the clouds. But when a stone-cutter starts chipping away at him, he wants to revert to being a man, and comes to the realization that he is satisfied with his station in life as a humble stone-cutter. Textual notes