Household Tales · Chapter
Knoist and His Three Sons explained
A man named Knoist has three sons—one blind, one lame, and one stark-naked.
What happens
A man named Knoist has three sons—one blind, one lame, and one stark-naked. They go into a field, see a hare, and each contributes to catching it. They then cross a lake in a bottomless boat, enter a forest with a tree containing a chapel, and encounter a beechwood sexton and a boxwood parson who dispense holy-water with cudgels. The chapter ends with a line about the happiness of escaping holy water.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
Knoist and his three sons are not in the canonical character list; 'unknown' is used as a placeholder.
Key passages
“The blind one shot it, the lame one caught it, the naked one put it in his pocket.”
Despite their disabilities, each son successfully performs a part of the task.
Highlights the absurd cooperation among the three sons.
“They all three got into the one with no bottom to it.”
They boarded the boat that lacked a bottom.
Emphasizes the illogical and humorous nature of the story.