The Brothers Grimm published this tale in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812, based on various oral and printed sources, including Der Wegkürzer (c. 1557) by Martinus Montanus.

The tailor enters the royal service, but the other soldiers are afraid that he will lose his temper someday, and then seven of them might die with every blow.

The king subsequently sends him after a wild boar, but the tailor traps it in a chapel with a similar luring technique.

While the king's servants are outside the door, the brave little tailor pretends to be talking in his sleep and says "Boy, make the jacket for me, and patch the trousers, or I will hit you across your ears with a yardstick!

I have struck down seven with one blow, killed two giants, led away a unicorn, and captured a wild boar, and I am supposed to be afraid of those who are standing just outside the bedroom!"

[1] "The Brave Little Tailor" has close similarities to other folktales collected around Europe, including "The Boy Who Had an Eating Match with a Troll" (Norway) and "Stan Bolovan" (Romania).

[6] In the 20th-century fantasy novel The Hobbit, a similar strategy is also employed by Gandalf to keep three trolls fighting amongst themselves, until the rising sun turns them to stone.

[13] A Danish variant, Brave against his will ("Den tapre Skrædder"), was collected by Jens Christian Bay.

[21] A Russian variant collected by Alexander Afanasyev, called "The Tale of the Bogatyr Gol' Voyanskoy" (the name roughly translatable as "poor warrior") has a peasant kill a number of horse-flies and mosquitoes bothering his horse.

After that, he goes to adventure on said horse after leaving a message about his "deed" carved into a tree, inviting other heroes to join him.

A similar story, Kara Mustapha (Mustafa), the Hero, was collected by Hungarian folklorist Ignác Kúnos, from Turkish sources.

[22] Francis Hindes Groome proposed a parallel between this tale with Indian story of Valiant Vicky, the Brave Weaver.

[24][25] Sometimes the weaver or tailor does not become a ruler, but still gains an upper station in life (general, commander, prime minister).