HOW A FISH SWAM IN THE AIR AND A HARE IN THE WATER
Once upon a time an old man and his wife lived together in a little village. They might have been happy if only the old woman had had the sense to hold her tongue at proper times. But anything which might happen indoors, or any bit of news which her husband might bring in when he had been anywhere, had to be told at once to the whole village, and these tales were repeated and altered till it often happened that much mischief was made, and the old man’s back paid for it.
One day, he drove to the forest. When he reached the edge of it he got out of his cart and walked beside it. Suddenly he stepped on such a soft spot that his foot sank in the earth.
‘What can this be?’ thought he. ‘I’ll dig a bit and see.’
So he dug and dug, and at last he came on a little pot full of gold and silver.
‘Oh, what luck! Now, if only I knew how I could take this treasure home with me – but I can never hope to hide it from my wife, and once she knows of it she’ll tell all the world, and then I shall get into trouble.’
He sat down and thought over the matter a long time, and at last he made a plan. He covered up the pot again with earth and twigs, and drove on into the town, where he bought a live pike and a live hare in the market.
Then he drove back to the forest and hung the pike up at the very top of a tree, and tied up the hare in a fishing net and fastened it on the edge of a little stream, not troubling himself to think how unpleasant such a wet spot was likely to be to the hare.
Then he got into his cart and trotted merrily home.
‘Wife!’ cried he, the moment he got indoors. ‘You can’t think what a piece of good luck has come our way.’
‘What, what, dear husband? Do tell me all about it at once.’
‘No, no, you’ll just go off and tell everyone.’
‘No, indeed! How can you think such things! For shame! If you like I will swear never to – ’
‘Oh, well! if you are really in earnest then, listen.’
And he whispered in her ear: ‘I’ve found a pot full of gold and silver in the forest! Hush! – ’
‘And why didn’t you bring it back?’
‘Because we’ll drive there together and bring it carefully back between us.’
So the man and his wife drove to the forest.
As they were driving along the man said:
‘What strange things one hears, wife! I was told only the other day that fish will now live and thrive in the tree tops and that some wild animals spend their time in the water. Well! well! times are certainly changed.’
‘Why, you must be crazy, husband! Dear, dear, what nonsense people do talk sometimes.’
‘Nonsense, indeed! Why, just look. Bless my soul, if there isn’t a fish, a real pike I do believe, up in that tree.’
‘Gracious!’ cried his wife. ‘How did a pike get there? It IS a pike – you needn’t attempt to say it’s not. Can people have said true – ’
But the man only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth and gaped as if he really could not believe his own eyes.
‘What are you standing staring at there, stupid?’ said his wife. ‘Climb up the tree quick and catch the pike, and we’ll cook it for dinner.’
The man climbed up the tree and brought down the pike, and they drove on.
When they got near the stream he drew up.
‘What are you staring at again?’ asked his wife impatiently. ‘Drive on, can’t you?’
‘Why, I seem to see something moving in that net I set. I must just go and see what it is.’
He ran to it, and when he had looked in it he called to his wife:
‘Just look! Here is actually a four-footed creature caught in the net. I do believe it’s a hare.’
‘Good heavens!’ cried his wife. ‘How did the hare get into your net? It IS a hare, so you needn’t say it isn’t. After all, people must have said the truth – ’
But her husband only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as if he could not believe his own eyes.
‘Now what are you standing there for, stupid?’ cried his wife. ‘Take up the hare. A nice fat hare is a dinner for a feast day.’
The old man caught up the hare, and they drove on to the place where the treasure was buried. They swept the twigs away, dug up the earth, took out the pot, and drove home again with it.
And now the old couple had plenty of money and were cheery and comfortable. But the wife was very foolish. Every day she asked a lot of people to dinner and feasted them, till her husband grew quite impatient. He tried to reason with her, but she would not listen.
‘You’ve got no right to lecture me!’ said she. ‘We found the treasure together, and together we will spend it.’
Her husband took patience, but at length he said to her: ‘You may do as you please, but I sha’n’t give you another penny.’
The old woman was very angry. ‘Oh, what a good-for-nothing fellow to want to spend all the money himself! But just wait a bit and see what I shall do.’
Off she went to the governor to complain of her husband.
‘Oh, my lord, protect me from my husband! Ever since he found the treasure there is no bearing him. He only eats and drinks, and won’t work, and he keeps all the money to himself.’
The governor took pity on the woman, and ordered his chief secretary to look into the matter.
The secretary called the elders of the village together, and went with them to the man’s house.
‘The governor,’ said he, ‘desires you to give all that treasure you found into my care.’
The man shrugged his shoulders and said: ‘What treasure? I know nothing about a treasure.’
‘How? You know nothing? Why your wife has complained of you. Don’t attempt to tell lies. If you don’t hand over all the money at once you will be tried for daring to raise treasure without giving due notice to the governor about it.’
‘Pardon me, your excellency, but what sort of treasure was it supposed to have been? My wife must have dreamt of it, and you gentlemen have listened to her nonsense.’
‘Nonsense, indeed,’ broke in his wife. ‘A kettle full of gold and silver, do you call that nonsense?’
‘You are not in your right mind, dear wife. Sir, I beg your pardon. Ask her how it all happened, and if she convinces you I’ll pay for it with my life.’
‘This is how it all happened, Mr. Secretary,’ cried the wife. ‘We were driving through the forest, and we saw a pike up in the top of a tree – ’
‘What, a PIKE?’ shouted the secretary. ‘Do you think you may joke with me, pray?’
‘Indeed, I’m not joking, Mr. Secretary! I’m speaking the bare truth.’
‘Now you see, gentlemen,’ said her husband, ‘how far you can trust her, when she chatters like this.’
‘Chatter, indeed? I!! Perhaps you have forgotten, too, how we found a live hare in the river?’
Everyone roared with laughter; even the secretary smiled and stroked his beard, and the man said:
‘Come, come, wife, everyone is laughing at you. You see for yourself, gentlemen, how far you can believe her.’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said the village elders, ‘it is certainly the first time we have heard that hares thrive in the water or fish among the tree tops.’
The secretary could make nothing of it all, and drove back to the town. The old woman was so laughed at that she had to hold her tongue and obey her husband ever after, and the man bought wares with part of the treasure and moved into the town, where he opened a shop, and prospered, and spent the rest of his days in peace.
TWO IN A SACK
What a life that poor man led with his wife, to be sure! Not a day passed without her scolding him and calling him names, and indeed sometimes she would take the broom from behind the stove and beat him with it. He had no peace or comfort at all, and really hardly knew how to bear it.
One day, when his wife had been particularly unkind and had beaten him black and blue, he strolled slowly into the fields, and as he could not endure to be idle he spread out his nets.
What kind of bird do you think he caught in his net? He caught a crane, and the crane said, ‘Let me go free, and I’ll show myself grateful.’
The man answered, ‘No, my dear fellow. I shall take you home, and then perhaps my wife won’t scold me so much.’
Said the crane: ‘You had better come with me to my house,’ and so they went to the crane’s house.
When they got there, what do you think the crane took from the wall? He took down a sack, and he said:
‘Two out of a sack!’
Instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack. They brought in oak tables, which they spread with silken covers, and placed all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks on them. The man had never seen anything so beautiful in his life, and he was delighted.
Then the crane said to him, ‘Now take this sack to your wife.’
The man thanked him warmly, took the sack, and set out.
His home was a good long way off, and as it was growing dark, and he was feeling tired, he stopped to rest at his cousin’s house by the way.
The cousin had three daughters, who laid out a tempting supper, but the man would eat nothing, and said to his cousin, ‘Your supper is bad.’
‘Oh, make the best of it,’ said she, but the man only said: ‘Clear away!’ and taking out his sack he cried, as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack!’
And out came the two pretty boys, who quickly brought in the oak tables, spread the silken covers, and laid out all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks.
Never in their lives had the cousin and her daughters seen such a supper, and they were delighted and astonished at it. But the cousin quietly made up her mind to steal the sack, so she called to her daughters: ‘Go quickly and heat the bathroom: I am sure our dear guest would like to have a bath before he goes to bed.’
When the man was safe in the bathroom she told her daughters to make a sack exactly like his, as quickly as possible. Then she changed the two sacks, and hid the man’s sack away.
The man enjoyed his bath, slept soundly, and set off early next morning, taking what he believed to be the sack the crane had given him.
All the way home he felt in such good spirits that he sang and whistled as he walked through the wood, and never noticed how the birds were twittering and laughing at him.
As soon as he saw his house he began to shout from a distance, ‘Hallo! old woman! Come out and meet me!’
His wife screamed back: ‘You come here, and I’ll give you a good thrashing with the poker!’
The man walked into the house, hung his sack on a nail, and said, as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack!’
But not a soul came out of the sack.
Then he said again, exactly as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack!’
His wife, hearing him chattering goodness knows what, took up her wet broom and swept the ground all about him.
The man took flight and rushed oft into the field, and there he found the crane marching proudly about, and to him he told his tale.
‘Come back to my house,’ said the crane, and so they went to the crane’s house, and as soon as they got there, what did the crane take down from the wall? Why, he took down a sack, and he said:
‘Two out of the sack!’
And instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack, brought in oak tables, on which they laid silken covers, and spread all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks on them.
‘Take this sack,’ said the crane.
The man thanked him heartily, took the sack, and went. He had a long way to walk, and as he presently got hungry, he said to the sack, as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack!’
And instantly two rough men with thick sticks crept out of the bag and began to beat him well, crying as they did so:
‘Don’t boast to your cousins of what you have got,
One – two —
Or you’ll find you will catch it uncommonly hot,
One – two – ’
And they beat on till the man panted out:
‘Two into the sack.’
The words were hardly out of his mouth, when the two crept back into the sack.
Then the man shouldered the sack, and went off straight to his cousin’s house. He hung the sack up on a nail, and said: ‘Please have the bathroom heated, cousin.’
The cousin heated the bathroom, and the man went into it, but he neither washed nor rubbed himself, he just sat there and waited.
Meantime his cousin felt hungry, so she called her daughters, and all four sat down to table. Then the mother said:
‘Two out of the sack.’
Instantly two rough men crept out of the sack, and began to beat the cousin as they cried:
‘Greedy pack! Thievish pack!
One – two —
Give the peasant back his sack!
One – two – ’
And they went on beating till the woman called to her eldest daughter: ‘Go and fetch your cousin from the bathroom. Tell him these two ruffians are beating me black and blue.’
‘I’ve not finished rubbing myself yet,’ said the peasant.
And the two ruffians kept on beating as they sang:
‘Greedy pack! Thievish pack!
One – two —
Give the peasant back his sack!
One – two – ’
Then the woman sent her second daughter and said: ‘Quick, quick, get him to come to me.’
‘I’m just washing my head,’ said the man.
Then she sent the youngest girl, and he said: ‘I’ve not done drying myself.’
At last the woman could hold out no longer, and sent him the sack she had stolen.
NOW he had quite finished his bath, and as he left the bathroom he cried:
‘Two into the sack.’
And the two crept back at once into the sack.
Then the man took both sacks, the good and the bad one, and went away home.
When he was near the house he shouted: ‘Hallo, old woman, come and meet me!’
His wife only screamed out:
‘You broomstick, come here! Your back shall pay for this.’
The man went into the cottage, hung his sack on a nail, and said, as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack.’
Instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack, brought in oak tables, laid silken covers on them, and spread them with all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks.
The woman ate and drank, and praised her husband.
‘Well, now, old man, I won’t beat you any more,’ said she.
When they had done eating, the man carried off the good sack, and put it away in his store-room, but hung the bad sack up on the nail. Then he lounged up and down in the yard.
Meantime his wife became thirsty. She looked with longing eyes at the sack, and at last she said, as her husband had done:
‘Two out of the sack.’
And at once the two rogues with their big sticks crept out of the sack, and began to belabour her as they sang:
‘Would you beat your husband true?
Don’t cry so!
Now we’ll beat you black and blue!
Oh! Oh!’
The woman screamed out: ‘Old man, old man! Come here, quick! Here are two ruffians pommelling me fit to break my bones.’
Her husband only strolled up and down and laughed, as he said: ‘Yes, they’ll beat you well, old lady.’
And the two thumped away and sang again:
‘Blows will hurt, remember, crone,
We mean you well, we mean you well;
In future leave the stick alone,
For how it hurts, you now can tell,
One – two – ’
At last her husband took pity on her, and cried:
‘Two into the sack.’
He had hardly said the words before they were back in the sack again.
From this time the man and his wife lived so happily together that it was a pleasure to see them, and so the story has an end.
(From Russiche Marchen.)
THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
Long, long ago an old couple lived in a village, and, as they had no children to love and care for, they gave all their affection to a little dog. He was a pretty little creature, and instead of growing spoilt and disagreeable at not getting everything he wanted, as even children will do sometimes, the dog was grateful to them for their kindness, and never left their side, whether they were in the house or out of it.
One day the old man was working in his garden, with his dog, as usual, close by. The morning was hot, and at last he put down his spade and wiped his wet forehead, noticing, as he did so, that the animal was snuffling and scratching at a spot a little way off. There was nothing very strange in this, as all dogs are fond of scratching, and he went on quietly with his digging, when the dog ran up to his master, barking loudly, and back again to the place where he had been scratching. This he did several times, till the old man wondered what could be the matter, and, picking up the spade, followed where the dog led him. The dog was so delighted at his success that he jumped round, barking loudly, till the noise brought the old woman out of the house.
Curious to know if the dog had really found anything, the husband began to dig, and very soon the spade struck against something. He stooped down and pulled out a large box, filled quite full with shining gold pieces. The box was so heavy that the old woman had to help to carry it home, and you may guess what a supper the dog had that night! Now that he had made them rich, they gave him every day all that a dog likes best to eat, and the cushions on which he lay were fit for a prince.
The story of the dog and his treasure soon became known, and a neighbour whose garden was next the old people’s grew so envious of their good luck that he could neither eat nor sleep. As the dog had discovered a treasure once, this foolish man thought he must be able to discover one always, and begged the old couple to lend him their pet for a little while, so that he might be made rich also.
‘How can you ask such a thing?’ answered the old man indignantly.
‘You know how much we love him, and that he is never out of our sight for five minutes.’
But the envious neighbour would not heed his words, and came daily with the same request, till at last the old people, who could not bear to say no to anyone, promised to lend the dog, just for a night or two. No sooner did the man get hold of the dog than he turned him into the garden, but the dog did nothing but race about, and the man was forced to wait with what patience he could.
The next morning the man opened the house door, and the dog bounded joyfully into the garden, and, running up to the foot of a tree, began to scratch wildly. The man called loudly to his wife to bring a spade, and followed the dog, as he longed to catch the first glimpse of the expected treasure. But when he had dug up the ground, what did he find? Why, nothing but a parcel of old bones, which smelt so badly that he could not stay there a moment longer. And his heart was filled with rage against the dog who had played him this trick, and he seized a pickaxe and killed it on the spot, before he knew what he was doing. When he remembered that he would have to go with his story to the old man and his wife he was rather frightened, but there was nothing to be gained by putting it off, so he pulled a very long face and went to his neighbour’s garden.
‘Your dog,’ said he, pretending to weep, ‘has suddenly fallen down dead, though I took every care of him, and gave him everything he could wish for. And I thought I had better come straight and tell you.’
Weeping bitterly, the old man went to fetch the body of his favourite, and brought it home and buried it under the fig-tree where he had found the treasure. From morning till night he and his wife mourned over their loss, and nothing could comfort them.
At length, one night when he was asleep, he dreamt that the dog appeared to him and told him to cut down the fig-tree over his grave, and out of its wood to make a mortar. But when the old man woke and thought of his dream he did not feel at all inclined to cut down the tree, which bore well every year, and consulted his wife about it. The woman did not hesitate a moment, and said that after what had happened before, the dog’s advice must certainly be obeyed, so the tree was felled, and a beautiful mortar made from it. And when the season came for the rice crop to be gathered the mortar was taken down from its shelf, and the grains placed in it for pounding, when, lo and behold! in a twinkling of an eye, they all turned into gold pieces. At the sight of all this gold the hearts of the old people were glad, and once more they blessed their faithful dog.
But it was not long before this story also came to the ears of their envious neighbour, and he lost no time in going to the old people and asking if they happened to have a mortar which they could lend him. The old man did not at all like parting with his precious treasure, but he never could say no, so the neighbour went off with the mortar under his arm.
The moment he got into his own house he took a great handful of rice, and began to shell off the husks, with the help of his wife. But, instead of the gold pieces for which they looked, the rice turned into berries with such a horrible smell that they were obliged to run away, after smashing the mortar in a rage and setting fire to the bits.
The old people next door were naturally very much put out when they learned the fate of their mortar, and were not at all comforted by the explanations and excuses made by their neighbour. But that night the dog again appeared in a dream to his master, and told him that he must go and collect the ashes of the burnt mortar and bring them home. Then, when he heard that the Daimio, or great lord to whom this part of the country belonged, was expected at the capital, he was to carry the ashes to the high road, through which the procession would have to pass. And as soon as it was in sight he was to climb up all the cherry-trees and sprinkle the ashes on them, and they would soon blossom as they had never blossomed before.
This time the old man did not wait to consult his wife as to whether he was to do what his dog had told him, but directly he got up he went to his neighbour’s house and collected the ashes of the burnt mortar. He put them carefully in a china vase, and carried it to the high road, Sitting down on a seat till the Daimio should pass. The cherry-trees were bare, for it was the season when small pots of them were sold to rich people, who kept them in hot places, so that they might blossom early and decorate their rooms. As to the trees in the open air, no one would ever think of looking for the tiniest bud for more than a month yet. The old man had not been waiting very long before he saw a cloud of dust in the far distance, and knew that it must be the procession of the Daimio. On they came, every man dressed in his finest clothes, and the crowd that was lining the road bowed their faces to the ground as they went by. Only the old man did not bow himself, and the great lord saw this, and bade one of his courtiers, in anger, go and inquire why he had disobeyed the ancient customs. But before the messenger could reach him the old man had climbed the nearest tree and scattered his ashes far and wide, and in an instant the white flowers had flashed into life, and the heart of the Daimio rejoiced, and he gave rich presents to the old man, whom he sent for to his castle.
We may be sure that in a very little while the envious neighbour had heard this also, and his bosom was filled with hate. He hastened to the place where he had burned the mortar, collected a few of the ashes which the old man had left behind, and took them to the road, hoping that his luck might be as good as the old man’s, or perhaps even better. His heart beat with pleasure when he caught the first glimpses of the Daimio’s train, and he held himself ready for the right moment. As the Daimio drew near he flung a great handful of ashes over the trees, but no buds or flowers followed the action: instead, the ashes were all blown back into the eyes of the Daimio and his warriors, till they cried out from pain. Then the prince ordered the evil-doer to be seized and bound and thrown into prison, where he was kept for many months. By the time he was set free everybody in his native village had found out his wickedness, and they would not let him live there any longer; and as he would not leave off his evil ways he soon went from bad to worse, and came to a miserable end.
(Japanische Marchen.)