A widely told European folk tale warns that haste and temper squander great opportunities

Evidence

With their one remaining wish — the last of three that could have made them rich beyond dreams — they had to wish the sausage off the woodcutter’s nose. POOF — and there they were again, exactly as poor as before, with nothing to show for their three magic wishes but a lesson learned the hard way. The tale is told all over Europe with a laugh — about how haste, thoughtlessness, and a quick temper can waste the most precious opportunities, and about how, given a great chance, foolish people will fritter it away on sausages and spite, and end up exactly where they started. — , A Year of World Stories, 14550

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to other ‘wasted magic wishes’ folk tales and to the hasty-judgment theme in the Gelert story that follows shortly after.