FAIRY TALES (text) - 72. THE FOOL BOY AND THE MAGIC RING

THE FOOL BOY AND THE MAGIC RING

Once upon a time there was an old lady that had a son, but her son was a bit silly. The woman was poor and she lived by spinning thread. One day the son told her that he would go and sell the threads and she told him to buy food with the money he would get. The boy went to sell the threads and got three pennies. On his way to the bakery, he saw some men that were trying to kill a dog. The boy told her not to kill the dog because it would be such a pity, but they told him to get away. Then the boy didn’t no alternative but to buy the dog and they told him they wanted two pennies and a half. He gave them the money and with the half left he bought meat and gave it to the dog. Then he went home and told his mother he had bought a dog, and she told him:

– Damn you, what do I do with a dog now?

The poor woman took the spindle and began to spin again. Having finished spinning, she sent her son to go and sell the thread.

The boy went to sell the threads and on his way to the bakery, he saw two people trying to kill a cat. He bought the cat like he did with the dog and with money he was left, he bought some fish and gave it to the cat. When he went home he told his mother about the cat and she turned to him and said:

– I wish the cat eats your ears, we have nothing to eat, and what to you do?! You go and buy a cat!

The woman span thread again and when she finished, she sent he son to sell the thread again. But on his way he saw some people trying to kill a donkey and he bought the donkey too. Then he bought some straw with the money left. When the mother saw her son riding the donkey she nearly passed out.

The poor woman hadn’t eaten for days and she was barely standing on her feet. She began to spin again and this time she went to the market to sell the thread by herself.

The son took the donkey and went to cut some wood, and on his way home, he saw a fig tree that was burning down. He stopped to see it and he looked at a snake on top of the tree that was saying:

– Please save me, you son of the man!

The boy didn’t trust the snake but he told the boy he would make him rich. After lots of prayers, the boy was convinced and saved the snake, and when they climbed down, the snake said:

– Come with me to the cave where my mother and my brothers live.

On the way to the cave, the snake told the boy he would ask his mother for the ring she had under her tongue and nothing else.

They arrive at the cave and the snake’s mother got out hurrying to eat the boy, but the snake went in front of her and told his mother that the boy had saved his life. Then the snake’s mother stopped and asked him what he wanted, and the boy told her he wanted the ring under her tongue. Then she said:

– You can ask me gold and everything you want, but I won’t give the ring to you.

The boy told her he wanted only the ring and turned to leave. Then the little snake told his mother: – If you don’t give the ring to the boy, I will go with him.

Then she told her son to go and call the boy and when he turned back, the snake’s mother said:

– Whatever you ask to this ring. It’ll give it to you, just be careful not to miss it because it’s unique in the whole world.

He took the ring and when he went home he told his mother they would eat lunch, but she said they had nothing to eat. When they sat at the table, the boy asked the ring for lots of good foods and the table was full of delicious dishes and fruits.

Having finished eating, the boy told his mother to go and ask for the hand of the king’s daughter.

The old woman went to the king and he said:

– Your son will marry my daughter only if he builds a better palace than mine.

When the mother came back home and told her son about the words king said, he told to the ring and it built a better palace than the one where the king lived.

Then the old woman went to the king for his daughter and he told her:

– He’ll marry my daughter when he paves the way from his palace to mine with silver tiles.

The woman told her son these words, he took out the ring and paved the road. When the king went to see the road and everything was like he had asked, he was forced to give his daughter to the fool boy.

After spending a few days together, the bride stole the ring and told it:

– Take me to the Black Sea and leave the boy and his mother to the hut where they have lived. So the bride crossed the sea and the boy was stuck in the hut he had. He looked everywhere for the ring but he never found it.

Then the dog and the cat asked him to let them go and find the bride, and he gave them the permission to go. They set off and arrived at the Black Sea. The cat got on dog’s back and they crossed the sea. The night came when they were still running and they spent the night in a hotel. Around the midnight, the cat heard mice noise and went to watch behind the door. The mice were having a wedding because their leader was getting married, and when the bride showed up the cat came and told her:

– Don’t get scared because I won’t do anything to you. I want you to find a ring that the king’s daughter stole from my lord, otherwise I will eat you all.

The mice ran outside to seek for the ring and when they found her, the princess was sleeping and she had put the ring inside her nose so that they couldn’t take it out. But one of the mice put his tail inside her nose and she sneezed, so the ring came out, they took it and ran to give it to the cat. The cat and the dog turned on their way back home immediately. When they were in the middle of the sea, the dog told the cat to give the ring to him but she didn’t want to. They began arguing with each-other and the ring fell into the sea. They were so sad and they hated themselves, but there was nothing left to do and they went to the shore to dry under the sun. A little fish showed its head at the place where they were staying. The cat stretched her claws and caught the fish. When they opened its stomach, they found there the magic ring.

They took the ring and went to their lord with a great joy. The boy took the ring and said:

– Hey ring, bring my palace with silver tiles back and leave my wife at the other side of the sea. He learned a big lesson and from that day onward he made no mistakes.