D. L. Ashliman
© 2000-2001
folktales of Aarne-Thompson type 1696
translated and/or edited by
D. L. Ashliman
© 2000-2001
Return to D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.
Once upon a time there was a poor woman who had a son who wanted very much to travel. His mother said, "How can you travel? We have no money at all for you to take with you."
Then the son said, "I will take care of myself. I will always say, 'Not much, not much, not much.'"
So he walked for a long time, always saying, "Not much, not much, not much."
Then he came to a group of fishermen, and said, "God be with you. Not much, not much, not much."
"What do you say, fellow? Not much?"
And when they pulled up their net, they had not caught many fish. So one of them fell on the boy with a stick, saying, "Have you ever seen me thrash?"
"What should I say, then?" asked the boy.
"You should say, "Catch a lot. Catch a lot."
Then he again walked a long time, saying, "Catch a lot. Catch a lot," until he came to a gallows, where they were about to hang a poor sinner. Then said he, "Good morning. Catch a lot. Catch a lot."
"What do you say, fellow? Catch a lot? Should there be even more wicked people in the world? Isn't this enough?" And he again got it on his back.
"What should I say, then?" he asked.
"You should say, "May God comfort the poor soul."
Again the boy walked on for a long while, saying, "May God comfort the poor soul." Then he came to a ditch where a knacker was skinning a horse. The boy said, "Good morning. May God comfort the poor soul."
"What do you say, you disgusting fellow?" said the knacker, hitting him about the ears with his skinning hook until he could not see out of his eyes.
"What should I say, then?"
"You should say, 'Lie in the ditch, you carcass.'"
So he walked on, saying, "Lie in the ditch, you carcass. Lie in the ditch, you carcass." He came to a coach filled with people, and said, "Lie in the ditch, you carcass."
Then the coach tipped over into the ditch, and the driver took his whip and beat the boy until he had to crawl back to his mother, and as long as he lived he never went traveling again.
Once upon a time there was a widow who had a son named Michel. One day she said to him, "Michel, I can no longer provide for you. You must go to the village. And when you get there, you must say, 'A hundred every day! A hundred every day!'"
Michel said, "I will do that."
Upon his arrival in the village a funeral coach came his way, and he cried out, "A hundred every day! A hundred every day!"
Then the pallbearers came and gave him a beating. Michel returned home and said to his mother, "Mother, I got beaten up."
His mother asked, "Why?"
Michel replied, "When I arrived in the village a funeral coach came my way, and I cried out, "A hundred every day! A hundred every day! Then the pallbearers came and gave me a beating."
"You did a bad thing," responded his mother. "You should have cried and wrung your hands."
"I can still do that," replied Michel.
When he arrived in the village again, a wedding coach came his way, so Michel sat down and cried and wrung his hands. Then the members of the wedding party came and gave him a beating.
Michel returned home again and said to his mother, "I got beaten up again!"
"Why this time?" asked his mother.
"Well," said Michel, "when I arrived in the village a wedding coach came my way, so I sat down and cried and wrung my hands. Then the members of the wedding party came and gave me a beating."
"You did a bad thing," responded the mother. "You should have danced and shouted, 'Happiness and joy! Happiness and joy!'"
"I can still do that," replied Michel.
When he arrived in the village this time, there was a house on fire. He ran up to it, dancing and shouting, "Happiness and joy! Happiness and joy!" Then the men came and gave him a beating.
Michel returned home again and said to his mother, "I got beaten up again!"
"Why this time?" asked his mother.
Michel said, "When I arrived in the village, there was a house on fire. I ran up to it dancing and shouting, 'Happiness and joy! Happiness and joy!' Then the men came and gave me a beating."
"You did a bad thing," responded the mother. "You should have thrown a bucket of water on it."
"I can still do that," replied Michel.
When he arrived in the village this time, there was a wagon standing there filled with beehives, so he took a bucket of water and poured in on the bees. Then the beekeeper came and gave him a beating.
Michel returned home again and said to his mother, "I got beaten up again!"
"Oh, why this time?" asked his mother.
Michel answered, "When I arrived in the village, there was a wagon standing there filled with beehives, so I took a bucket of water and poured in on the bees. Then the beekeeper came and gave me a beating.
"You did a bad thing," responded the mother. "You should have said, 'Give me a sweet treat for my mother! Give me a sweet treat for my mother!'"
"I can still do that," replied Michel.
When he arrived in the village this time, a manure wagon was just being unloaded. Michel went up to it and said, "Give me a sweet treat for my mother! Give me a sweet treat for my mother!"
"Gladly!" said the workers. "Just hold out your cap." Then they filled his cap full to the top.
Then Michel went home and shouted, "Mother, mother, see what I've got here! Mother, mother, see what I've got here!"
Then the mother took hold of him and gave him a beating.
Once upon a time there was a boy whose name was Jack, and he lived with his mother on a common. They were very poor, and the old woman got her living by spinning, but Jack was so lazy that he would do nothing but bask in the sun in the hot weather, and sit by the corner of the hearth in the wintertime. So they called him Lazy Jack.
His mother could not get him to do anything for her, and at last told him, one Monday, that if he did not begin to work for his porridge she would turn him out to get his living as he could.
This roused Jack, and he went out and hired himself for the next day to a neighboring farmer for a penny. But as he was coming home, never having had any money before, he lost it in passing over a brook.
"You stupid boy," said his mother, "you should have put it in your pocket."
"I'll do so another time," replied Jack.
On Wednesday, Jack went out again and hired himself to a cow-keeper, who gave him a jar of milk for his day's work. Jack took the jar and put it into the large pocket of his jacket, spilling it all, long before he got home.
"Dear me!" said the old woman. "You should have carried it on your head."
"I'll do so another time," said Jack.
So on Thursday, Jack hired himself again to a farmer who agreed to give him a cream cheese for his services. In the evening Jack took the cheese, and went home with it on his head. By the time he got home the cheese was all spoiled, part of it being lost, and part matted with his hair.
"You stupid lout," said his mother, "you should have carried it very carefully in your hands."
"I'll do another time," replied Jack.
On Friday Lazy Jack again went out, and hired himself to a baker, who would give him nothing for his work but a large tomcat. Jack took the cat, and began carrying it very carefully in his hands, but in a short time pussy scratched him so much that he was compelled to let it go.
When he got home, his mother said to him, "You silly fellow, you should have tied it with a string, and dragged it along after you."
"I'll do so another time," said Jack.
So on Saturday Jack hired himself to a butcher, who rewarded him by the handsome present of a shoulder of mutton. Jack took the mutton, tied it to a string and trailed it along after him in the dirt, so that by the time he had got home the meat was completely spoiled.
His mother was this time quite out of patience with him, for the next day was Sunday, and she was obliged to do with cabbage for her dinner. "You ninny-hammer," said she to her son, "you should have carried it on your shoulder."
"I'll do so another time," replied Jack.
On the next Monday Lazy Jack went once more, and hired himself to a cattle-keeper, who gave him a donkey for his trouble. Jack found it hard to hoist the donkey on his shoulders, but at last he did it, and began walking slowly home with his prize.
Now it happened that in the course of his journey there lived a rich man with his only daughter, a beautiful girl, but deaf and dumb. Now she had never laughed in her life, and the doctors said she would never speak till somebody made her laugh. This young lady happened to be looking out of the window when jack was passing with the donkey on his shoulders, with the legs sticking up in the air, and the sight was so comical and strange that she burst out into a great fit of laughter, and immediately recovered her speech and hearing. Her father was overjoyed, and fulfilled his promise by marrying her to Lazy Jack, who was thus made a rich gentleman. They lived in a large house, and Jack's mother lived with them in great happiness until she died.
A certain man died and left three sons. One was altogether a fool, another was fairly intelligent, and the third was rather clever. This being so, it was of course difficult for them to live together. In dividing the inheritance among them, the fool was cheated, and in regard to the cattle he was thus duped: There were three entrances to the pen, two open and one very narrow. The two clever brothers proposed to drive the beasts out of all three at once; those that issued from the small gap were to belong to the fool. In this way the latter's share was only one young bull out of the whole flock. But to his feeble mind the division seemed fair enough, so he contentedly drove his bull out into the forest, and tied it with a stout rope to a young tree, whilst he himself wandered aimlessly about.
Three days later, the fool went to see his beast. It had eaten and drunk nothing, but had pulled the tree up by the roots, and laid bare a jar full of old gold coins. The fool was delighted, and played with the money for a time. Then he resolved to take the jar and present it to the king. As he passed along the road, every wayfarer looked into the pot, took out the gold in handfuls, and so that he should not notice their thefts, filled it up with stones and blocks of wood. On reaching the palace, the fool asked for an audience of the king, and it was granted. He emptied out the contents of the jar at the feet of the king. When the courtiers saw the wrath of the king, they took the fool away and beat him. When he had recovered himself he asked why he had been thrashed. One of the bystanders, for fun, cried to him, "You have been beaten because you labor in vain."
The fool went his way, muttering the words, "You labor in vain." As he passed a peasant who was reaping, he repeated his phrase again and again, until the peasant grew angry, and thrashed him. The fool asked why he had been beaten, and what he ought to have said.
"You ought to have said, 'God give you a good harvest!'"
The fool went on, saying "God give you a good harvest!" and met a funeral. Again he was beaten, and again he asked what he should say.
They replied that he should have said, "Heaven rest your soul!" He then came to a wedding, and saluted the newly married couple with this funereal phrase.
Again he was beaten, and then told that he should say, "Be fruitful and multiply!"
His next visit was to a monastery, and he accosted every monk with his new salutation. They too gave him a thrashing, with such vigor that the fool determined to have his revenge by stealing of the bells from their belfry. So he hid himself until the monks had gone to rest, and then carried off a bell of moderate size.
He went into the forest, climbed a tree, and hung the bell on the branches, ringing it from time to time, partly to amuse himself and partly to frighten away wild beasts. In the forest there was a gang of robbers, who were assembled to share their booty, and had just ended a merry banquet. Suddenly they heard the sound of the bell, and were much afraid. They took counsel as to what was to be done, and most of them were for flight, but the oldest of the band advised them to send a scout to see what was wrong. The bravest among them was sent to get information, and the rest remained as quiet as possible.
The brigand went on tiptoe through the bushes to the tree where the fool was, and respectfully asked, "Who are you? If you are an angel sent by God to punish our wickedness, pray spare us and we shall repent. If you are a devil from hell, come and share with us."
The fool was not so stupid that he did not see he had to deal with robbers, so he took out a knife, tolled the bell, and then said with a grave air, "If you wish to know who I am, climb the tree and show me your tongue, so that I may mark on it who I am and what I ask of you."
The robber obediently climbed the tree, and put out his tongue as far as he could. The fool cut off his tongue, and kicked him to the ground. The robber, mad with pain, and frightened by his sudden fall, ran off howling. His comrades had come out to meet him, and when they saw the plight he was in, they ran off in terror, leaving their wealth. Next morning the fool found the booty, and without saying anything to anybody, took it home and became much richer than his brothers. The fool built three palaces: one for himself, one for me, and one for you. There is merrymaking in the fool's palace. Come and be one of the guests!
A poor widow's misery was increased by the knowledge that her son, her only son, around whom she had built up many many hopes, was a half-wit.
One day she sent him to the bazaar with some cloth and told him to sell it for four rupees. The boy went, and sat down in the most public thoroughfare of the city.
"How much do you want for that piece of cloth?" asked a man.
"Four rupees," replied the boy.
"All right. I'll give you six rupees for it. It is worth it. Here, take the money."
"No, no," said the boy. "Its price is four rupees."
"You scamp!" exclaimed the man angrily, and went on. He thought the boy was joking with him.
On reaching home in the evening he informed his mother of this incident, and she was grieved that he had not taken the money.
Another day she sent him to the bazaar, and advised him to salaam everybody, saying that nothing was ever lost by politeness, but, on the contrary, everything was sometimes gained by it. The stupid boy sallied forth, and began making salaams to everybody and everything he met -- a sweeper, a horse, some little children, a house. A number of asses, too, passed by with loads on their backs, and he said "Salaam" to them also.
"Hey! You fool! What are you doing?" said the donkey-driver in charge. "Don't you know that we say "Fri fri?" [an exclamation used for urging on donkeys], whereupon the boy commenced saying "Fri fri" to every person and thing. He passed a man who had just spread a snare for a bird that he very much wished to catch, when "Fri fri" shouted the boy, and most effectually frightened away the bird.
"You blackguard! What are you doing?" said the man. "You should say "Lag lag" in a very soft tone."
Then the boy began to say "Lag lag." He was wandering about crying "Lag lag" when he came across some thieves coming out of a garden, where they had just been stealing the fruit.
"What do you mean?" said they. "Be quiet, you fool, or say something else. Go and shout, 'Let go one and take the other.'"
So the boy did, and while he was shouting these words a funeral cortege passed by.
"Be quiet," said some of the mourners. "Have you so little respect for the dead? Get along home."
At length, disappointed and disheartened, not knowing what to do or what to say, the half-wit returned to his mother and told her everything.
Revised February 8, 2001.