Once upon a time, according to a tale possibly written by the Grimm brothers, a shepherd leaves a small inheritance to his daughter and son: the homestead and three sheep. The daughter claims the house, and the son (played by Write Right) takes the sheep.
“What to do with the sheep?” the son asks himself. Take them and make his fortune, he supposes. He sets out and encounters a strange man with an even stranger proposition: trade the three sheep for three dogs named Salt, Pepper, and Mustard. The son thinks the trade a poor one; at least with the sheep he has some food to eat.
The strange man says the dogs are magical. Salt will bring him food; Pepper can defend him; and Mustard can chew through any metal. “Odd dogs,” thinks the son, “but okay.” He exchanges the sheep for the dogs.
When he asks Salt to bring him food, Salt does. “A good turn!” exults the son. He continues traveling and meets a princess who is fated to be the–excuse the wording–sacrificial lamb for the dragon that terrorizes the lands. “Oh, no,” says the son. “Not this time.”
He sets Pepper on the dragon, and the dog not only fells the creature but also eats it except for a few claws. The princess begs the son to come meet her father, but he isn’t done adventuring. “Three years,” he tells the princess. “Three years, and I’ll return.”
Three years pass. In that time, a liar of a footman claims the princess’ hand in marriage, stating he defeated the dragon. The king has no idea that his beloved daughter fears for her life and agrees to the proposal. He only wonders at her patience; she puts off the wedding month after month, year after year.
When the son appears at the castle saying he, not the footman, defeated the dragon, he’s thrown into jail. He remembers his final dog, Mustard, and calls to him for rescue. Mustard appears and chews through the bars on the prison window. The son gets out, rushes to the king, and he and the princess explain the situation.
The two wed (of course) and the son eventually remembers his sister, far away in the little home. He goes to retrieve her, and, when he does, the dogs turn into birds and fly away to heaven.
Personally, I think the ending is why nobody knows this fairytale. Much too clean, Grimm, much too clean.