24
THE JEW IN THE THORNBUSH
A farmer had a hard-working and faithful servant, who served him for three years without receiving any wages. Finally, it occurred to the servant that he really didn’t want to work for nothing, and he went to his master and said: “I’ve served you honestly and tirelessly for a long time. That’s why I trust you’ll now want to give me what’s due to me, in keeping with God’s commandments.”
However, the farmer was a sleazy man and knew that the servant was simple-minded. So he took three pennies and gave him a penny for each year. That’s how the servant was paid. Meanwhile, he believed that all this was a fortune and thought, “Why should I put up with drudgery anymore? I can now take care of myself and be free and have a merry time in the world.” So he stuck his huge amount of money in a sack and began traveling cheerfully over hill and dale.
When he came to a field, skipping and singing, a little man appeared and asked him why he was so merry.
“Oh, why should I be gloomy? I’m healthy, and I’ve got an enormous amount of money and don’t need to worry. I’ve saved all that I earned from working for my master three years, and it’s all mine!”
“How much is your treasure?”asked the little man.
“Three whole pennies,” answered the servant.
“I’m a poor man. Give me your three pennies.”
Now since the servant had a kind heart and took pity on the little man, he gave him the money.
Then the man said: “Because you have a pure heart, you are to be granted three wishes, one for each penny. Now you may have what your heart desires.”
The servant was satisfied with this and thought, “I prefer things to money,” and he said: “First, I wish for a fowling gun that hits everything I aim at; second I wish for a fiddle that will make everyone dance when I play it; third I want people always to do what I request.”
The little man said, “All your wishes are granted,” and he immediately gave him the fiddle and the gun and went off on his way.
Well, if the servant had been happy before, he thought that he was now ten times happier, and he had not gone very far when he encountered an old Jew. A tree was standing there, and a small lark was sitting on top of the highest branch and sang and sang.
“It’s a miracle of God that such a little bird can sing like that!” said the Jew. “I’d give anything to have it.”
“Well, if that’s all you want, the bird will soon come down to us,” said the servant. Then he took aim with his gun and shot the lark between the eyes so that it fell down from the tree.
“Go and pick it up,” he said to the Jew.
However, the bird had fallen into some thornbushes that were under the tree. The Jew crawled into the bushes, and when he was stuck in the middle of the bushes, the servant took out his fiddle and began playing. Then the Jew started to dance and couldn’t stop. Instead, he jumped even higher with more force. Meanwhile, the thorns ripped his clothes so that they hung in shreds on him, and he was scratched and wounded, causing his entire body began to bleed. .
“For God’s sake!” the Jew screamed. “Stop playing your fiddle. What crime have I done to deserve this?”
“You’ve skinned enough people,” thought the servant, “so you’re just getting the justice that you deserve.” And he played a new jig. Meanwhile the Jew began pleading and making promises and said he’d give him money if he stopped. At first, however, the servant didn’t think the Jew offered him enough and drove him to dance even more until the Jew promised him a hundred solid gold coins that he was carrying in his bag and that he had just obtained by cheating a good Christian. When the servant saw all that money, he said: “Well, given this condition, yes, I’ll stop.” So he took the bag and stopped playing his fiddle. Then he calmly and happily went on his way.
Meanwhile the Jew broke out of the thornbush. He was half naked and miserable and began contemplating how he’d avenge himself. He cursed the fellow and wished evil things would happen to him. Finally, he ran to a judge and complained that, without being at fault, he had been robbed of his money by a scoundrel and that he had been beaten mercilessly, and the fellow who had done this was carrying a gun on his back, and a fiddle was hanging from his shoulder. So the judge sent out some couriers and officers who were supposed to track down the servant and see where they could find him. Soon the young man was discovered and brought before the court.
The Jew accused the servant of robbing his money, but the servant said: “You gave the money to me so that I’d stop playing my fiddle.”
The judge made short matter of all this and sentenced the servant to hang on the gallows. Well, soon he stood on the platform of the gallows with the noose around his neck, and he said, “Judge, please grant me one last request.”
“As long as you don’t ask me to spare your life.”
“It’s not about my life. I’d like to play my fiddle just one last time.”
The Jew started screaming: “For God’s sake, don’t let him do this! Don’t let him do this!”
But the judge declared: “I’m going to allow him to do this one last time, and let’s leave it at that.”
Also, since he had such talent, nobody at the marketplace wanted to refuse or have his request denied.
“For God’s sake,” the Jew shouted. “Tie me up!”
Then the servant took the fiddle and stroked it with the bow. Everyone started to shake and sway—the judge, the clerk, and the officers. Nobody could tie up the Jew. Now the servant stroked the fiddle a second time, and the hangman let go of the rope and began to dance himself, and when the servant really started fiddling, everyone danced together—the judge and the Jew at the head of all the people who had come to the marketplace to watch. At the beginning it was quite merry, but since the fiddling and dancing didn’t end, they all screamed miserably and pleaded with the servant to stop. However, he refused to do it unless the judge granted him his life and also promised to let him have the hundred gold coins. In addition he yelled to the Jew: “You swindler, confess and tell us where you got the money from, otherwise I’ll keep playing the fiddle for you only.”
“I stole it, I stole it!” he screamed so that everyone heard him. “And you earned it honestly.”
So the servant stopped playing the fiddle, and the scoundrel was hung in his place on the gallows.
25
THE EXPERT HUNTSMAN
Once upon a time there was a young fellow, and after he had learned the locksmith’s trade, he told his father that he had to go out into the world and try his luck.
“Yes,” said his father. “I’m satisfied with your decision,” and he gave him money for his journey.
So the young man wandered about looking for work. After some time he found that he was not very successful as a locksmith. Moreover, the trade no longer suited him, for he had a craving to become a huntsman. Then one day during his travels he met a huntsman clad in green, who asked him where he came from and where he was going. The young man told him he was a locksmith but no longer liked the trade and wanted to become a huntsman, and he asked whether the man could take him on as an apprentice.
“Yes, I can if you want to come along with me.”
The young fellow went with him, hired himself out for several years, and learned the craft of hunting. After his apprenticeship had ended, he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. The only wage he received from the huntsman was an air gun, but it was made in such a special way that it never missed when fired.
The young huntsman set off and soon came to a very large forest that was impossible to cross in one day. When evening came, he climbed a high tree to keep himself safe from wild animals. Toward midnight he thought he saw the glimmer of a small light in the distance. He looked through the branches at the spot and took note of where the light was coming from. Then he removed his hat and threw it toward the light so that he would have a marker to point him in the direction he wanted to go. After he climbed down, he went after his
hat, put it on again, and proceeded straight ahead. The farther he went, the larger the light grew, and when he got up close to it, he saw a tremendous fire with three giants sitting around and eating, with large pieces of meat in their mouths that they had roasted on the fire. Then the huntsman took his gun and shot a piece of meat away from the first giant’s mouth just as he was about to bite into it. He did this also to the second giant. Then the giants said to one another, “Anyone who can shoot a piece of meat from our mouths must be a real sharpshooter. We’d certainly like him to join us if he wants to.”
But the huntsman now shot a piece of meat from the third giant’s mouth, and the giants shouted, “Who are you? Come over to us. Sit down and eat with us.”
So now, the young fellow joined the giants and told them he was an expert huntsman, and that whatever he took aim at with his gun he was sure to hit. After hearing this, the giants told him things would go well for him if he came along with them. There was a large river at the other end of the forest, they explained, and on the other side of the river was a tower, and in the tower there was a beautiful princess, whom they intended to kidnap.
“All right,” said the huntsman. “I’ll get her for you soon enough.”
“But wait, there’s something else,” the giants continued. “There’s a little dog that starts barking as soon as anyone approaches, and when it barks, everyone at the royal court wakes up. That’s why we can’t get in. Do you think you can shoot the little dog?”
“Certainly,” he said. “That’s just trifling sport for me.”
Soon after that the huntsman got on a boat and sailed over the river, and as soon as he landed, the little dog came running and was about to bark when the huntsman took out his air gun and shot it dead. When the giants saw that, they rejoiced, thinking that they had the princess for sure, but the huntsman wanted first to check on things at the castle and told them to stay outside until he called them. So he went into the castle, where everyone was asleep, and it was dead quiet. When he opened the door to the first room, he saw a saber of pure silver hanging on the wall. It had a gold star on it, and the king’s name was inscribed on the handle. Nearby on a table lay a sealed letter, which he opened, and it said that whoever had possession of the saber could kill anything he encountered. So he took the saber from the wall, went to the entrance, and called the giants to come in. However, he told them he couldn’t get the door to open completely and that they had to crawl through a hole. So the first giant came and crawled inside, and as soon as his head appeared, the huntsman took the saber and sliced off his head and shoved his body completely inside. Then he called the second giant and sliced his head off, too, and shoved him inside. Finally, he called the third giant and told him that they already had the princess. So he came crawling inside, and he fared no better than the two other giants. This was how the huntsman saved the princess from the giants.
After this he closed the hole and went on to explore the castle. Next he came to the room where the princess was lying asleep. She was so beautiful that he stopped in his tracks, gazed at her, and held his breath. He looked around some more and saw a pair of slippers underneath her bed. Her father’s name and a star were on the right slipper, and on the left, her own name and a star. She was also wearing a large, silk neckerchief embroidered with gold. Her father’s name was on the right side, and her own on the left, all in gold letters. The huntsman took a pair of scissors, cut off the right corner of the neckerchief, and slipped it into his knapsack. He also put in the right slipper with the king’s name on it. The maiden kept sleeping, all wrapped up in her nightgown. Then he cut off a piece of the gown as well, without touching her, and put it into his knapsack with the rest of the articles. After that he went away and let her sleep undisturbed. When he came to the place where the giants were lying, he cut out all three of their tongues from their heads and stuck them in his knapsack. Finally, he decided to take everything home and show it all to his father.
When the king woke up in the castle, he saw the three giants lying there dead. Then he went into his daughter’s bedchamber, woke her up, and asked her who could have possibly come and killed the giants.
“Dear father,” she said, “I don’t know. I was asleep.”
When she got up and wanted to put on her slippers, the right one was missing, and when she looked at her neckerchief the right corner had been cut off and was missing. Then she glanced down at her nightgown and saw that a piece had been taken out of it. The king ordered the entire court to assemble, all the soldiers and everyone who was there, and he asked who had killed the giants.
Now, the king had an ugly, one-eyed captain, who claimed that he had done it. Thereupon the old king announced that he was entitled to wed his daughter since he had saved her. But the maiden said, “Dear father, I’d rather leave home and go as far away from here as my legs will carry me than marry him.”
Since she refused to marry the captain, the king commanded her to take off her royal garments, put on peasant clothes, and leave the court. He ordered her, furthermore, to go to a potter and start selling pottery. So she took off her royal garments, went to a potter, and borrowed a stock of his earthenware. She promised to pay him back if she sold everything by evening. Then the king told her to go sit by the roadside and sell the earthenware. In the meantime, he ordered some farmers to drive their wagons over her wares and crush everything into a thousand pieces. When the princess set out her wares along the road, the wagons came and smashed everything to pieces. She burst into tears and said, “Oh, Lord, how am I going to pay the potter now?”
This was the way that the king wanted to force her to marry the captain. However, she went back to the potter and asked him if he would lend her some more earthenware. He told her no, not until she paid for the stock that he had already given her. So she went to her father and screamed and told him she wanted to go far away from there.
He answered that she was to go into the forest where he was going to have a cottage built for her. She was to stay there for the rest of her life and cook for anyone who came along. But she was not allowed to accept money for this.
When the cottage was finished, a sign was hung outside the door, and on it was written “Today for nothing, tomorrow for money.” She lived there a long time, and news spread throughout the world that a maiden was living there who cooked for nothing, just as the sign said on the door. Word of this also reached the huntsman, and he thought, “That’s something for you. After all, you’re poor and have no money.” So he took his air gun and knapsack, in which he had put all the tokens he had taken from the castle, went into the forest, and found the cottage with the sign, “Today for nothing, tomorrow for money.” Now, he was still wearing the saber with which he had cut off the heads of the giants, and he carried it into the cottage with him. He asked to have something to eat and was delighted to see the beautiful maiden, who was as pretty as a picture. She asked him where he had come from and where he was going, and he replied, “I’m just traveling about the world.”
Then she asked him where he had got the saber, for her father’s name was on it. In response, he inquired whether she was the king’s daughter.
“Yes,” she answered.
“With this saber,” he said, “I cut off the heads of three giants,” and as proof he took the tongues out of his knapsack. Then he also showed her the slipper, the corner of her neckerchief, and the piece of nightgown. All at once she was overcome with joy, for she realized that he was the one who had saved her. Then they went to the old king together, and she led her father into her room and told him that the huntsman was the one who had saved her. When the old king saw the proof, all his doubts vanished, and he said he was glad and that the huntsman was entitled to marry the princess, and the princess was tremendously happy.
So now they dressed up the huntsman as a foreign lord, and the king had a banquet prepared. When they went to the table, the captain came and sat on the left side of the princess and the huntsman, on the right. The captai
n thought that the huntsman was a foreign lord who had come for a visit. When they had finished eating and drinking, the old king said to the captain that he wanted him to solve a riddle: how would it be possible if someone said he had killed three giants but couldn’t find their tongues when asked to look for them?
“They probably never had any tongues,” said the captain.
“Not so,” replied the king. “Every creature has a tongue,” and he asked the captain what a person deserved if he were to deceive a king.
“He should be torn to pieces,” the captain replied.
The king told him he had pronounced his own sentence. The captain was thrown into prison and subsequently torn into four pieces. The princess, though, was wed to the huntsman, and he returned home to fetch his father and mother, who came to live happily with their son, and after the old king’s death he inherited the kingdom.
26
THE FLESHING FLAIL FROM HEAVEN
A farmer once set out to plow with a pair of oxen. When he got to his field, the horns of both oxen began to grow. They grew and grew, and by the time he was ready to go home, the horns were so big that the oxen would not fit through the farm gate. Fortunately, a butcher happened to come along at that moment and was willing to take them over. They agreed that the farmer would bring a measure of turnip seeds to the butcher, and the butcher was to pay one Brabant gold coin for each seed. That’s what I call a good bargain!
Now, the farmer went home, got the measure of turnip seeds, and carried them in a sack. However, along the way one little seed fell out of the sack. The butcher paid him the price agreed upon. Now, as the farmer was on his way back home, the seed had grown into a tree that reached all the way to heaven.
“Oh,” thought the farmer, “you can’t let an opportunity like this pass you by. You’ve got to go up and see for yourself what the angels are doing there.” So he climbed up and saw the angels threshing oats. He watched them doing this, and while he was watching, he noticed that the tree he was standing on had begun to wobble. He looked down and saw that somebody was chopping it down. “It’d be terrible,” he thought, “if you were to fall all the way down.” Given his desperate situation, he could think of nothing better to do than to twist a rope out of the oat chaff that lay there in heaps. After that he grabbed a hoe and a fleshing flail that were lying around there in heaven, and he let himself down by the rope. However, when he landed on earth, he landed in a deep, deep hole, so he was lucky to have taken the hoe because he was able to hack out steps for himself. He climbed the steps and took the flail with him because he wanted to have proof if anyone ever doubted his story.