# Doctor Knowall explained — Household Tales

> Chapter companion for Household Tales by Jacob Grimm.

## What happens

A poor peasant named Crabb, inspired by a doctor's lifestyle, buys an ABC book with a cock on it, becomes 'Doctor Knowall,' and is summoned by a nobleman to find stolen money. Through a series of misunderstandings, the guilty servants confess to him, and he successfully identifies the hidden money, gaining wealth and fame.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished

The dishonest servants are caught and punished, while the clever peasant is rewarded for his accidental success.

### Greed and Its Downfall

The servants' greed leads them to steal, and their fear of exposure causes their downfall.

## Character check-ins

### Doctor Knowall

The peasant who adopts the title 'Doctor Knowall' and uses his wits to solve the theft.

### Grethe

The peasant's wife, who accompanies him to the nobleman's castle.

## Key lines

> In the first place buy thyself an A.B.C. book of the kind which has a cock on the frontispiece: in the second, turn thy cart and thy two oxen into money, and get thyself some clothes, and whatsoever else pertains to medicine; thirdly, have a sign painted for thyself with the words, ‘I am Doctor Knowall,’ and have that nailed up above thy house-door.

First, get an ABC book with a rooster on the cover. Second, sell your cart and oxen to buy clothes and medical supplies. Third, make a sign saying 'I am Doctor Knowall' and hang it over your door.

_The doctor gives the peasant a step-by-step plan to become a fake physician._

> The doctor looked at the dish, had no idea what to say, and cried, ‘Ah, poor Crabb.’ When the lord heard that, he cried, ‘There! he knows it, he knows who has the money!’

The doctor, unable to guess what was under the covered dish, exclaimed 'Ah, poor Crabb,' which the lord misinterpreted as a revelation about the thief.

_A lucky exclamation leads the lord to believe the doctor knows the thief's identity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters/doctor-knowall
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters